Red Eyes and the She Wolf
by angel eyes1 uk
Summary: FORBIDDEN LEMONS CONTEST WINNER - Vampires and wolves just shouldn't happen, but damn it he was slick. What can I say? I was a sucker for his accent and the way he spoke Italian. Leah neglects her pack duties to get it on with a vampire. Lemons/Angst
1. Chapter 1 Offers

**FORBIDDEN LEMON CONTEST – WINNING ENTRY, 1****ST**** PLACE **

**Disclaimer:- I own nothing, this is just for fun. No copyright infringement or acting in canon intended.**

To see the other entries in the "Forbidden Lemon" contest, please visit the C2 at: www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/community/Forbidden_Lemon_Contest/80416/

**NOTE – CHAPTERS 1 & 2 OF THIS STORY FORMED THE ORIGINAL ONE SHOT ENTERED INTO THE FORBIDDEN LEMON CONTEST. NOW I HAVE EXPANDED THIS STORY, THESE CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN AMENDED, AND CHAPTER 3 ONWARDS ADDED.**

*****Please note that the original one shot has now been taken down, as it was causing a bit of confusion with the duplication of story line.***  
**

Thank you to **TheRainGirl4** and **Nowforruin** for helping me polish my work and for their help and advice. To everyone who voted for me, thank you so much and I'm so grateful. You do realise you've created a monster, right?

~X~

**CHAPTER 1 - OFFERS  
**

_Vows are spoken, to be broken,_

_Feelings are intense, words are trivial,_

_Pleasures remain, so does the pain,_

_Words are meaningless, and forgettable._

Enjoy the Silence, Depeche Mode

~X~

It wasn't an imprint. I had seen him during the almost-war over the half-vampire baby, and I'd not felt that irresistible pull I'd seen happen to my male counterparts so many times before. At the time, I hadn't even given him a second thought; now I could think of little else. I paced up and down the clearing in wolf form as I waited. Was this a mistake? A trap? Should I really be meeting a vampire alone in the forest at night?

Probably not, but I'd agreed to come.

I hated vampires; what the hell was I doing there anyway? Weren't they supposed to be my mortal enemy? I wondered why I hadn't torn him apart at the first opportunity, like my instincts told me to. I guessed that I'd spent so much time around bloodsuckers recently that the line between mortal enemies and bosom buddies was getting a little blurred, and look where it had brought me. And _this_ vampire wasn't your watered down, vegetarian, altruistic type; he was the real deal. Yes, this probably wasn't a good idea, and if the pack found out I'd be in big trouble.

He was a smooth operator; I had to give him that. I had been leaving my aromatherapy evening class, and smelled him long before I got to the parking lot; his aroma was like expensive hand cream, very strong and very perfumed. Yet it wasn't as disgusting to me as I found other bloodsuckers' stenches; it was overpowering but not bleach to the nostrils.

I'd sought him out with my eyes and found him quickly. He stood out like a sore thumb with his pale, luminescent skin and dark fashionable clothing; a little too styled for Peninsula College, Port Angeles. Seeing him there standing by my battered old car made me realise just how well the Cullens blended in amongst humans. Yes, this was an entirely different breed of vampire.

I'd approached apprehensively, my hackles up, but I held back from phasing in front of my fellow students. He was as unlikely to tear my throat out in public as I was to burst into werewolf form, but I was not letting my guard down for a second. Why was he waiting here, by my car? It could only be either for my benefit or detriment.

Once I'd gotten close enough, he'd smiled widely with those dead, crystalline lips. "Hello Miss Clearwater," he began in a smooth voice. It was melted caramel for the ears.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I'd snapped back. I wasn't about to exchange pleasantries with a leech. It was then that I recognised him; he was one of the vampire Gestapo, or whatever they called them. I guessed that meant he didn't eat Thumper and Bambi. I wondered whether his diet of choice included wolves and suppressed a growl.

"My name is Demetri." He spoke with an English accent. His fair hair was spiked and his skin had an unnatural sheen, while his eyes were dark with a red rim. I guessed you could say he was attractive, if you were into the whole necrophilia thing. "I'm here on behalf of the Volturi; we have a proposal for you if you would be willing to listen. Would you like to discuss the matter somewhere a little more... private?"

"No," I replied suspiciously. "Here will do just fine. Say what you've got to say and go. I doubt you have any kind of offer that I'd be interested in." My nostrils flared, taking in more of his scent.

He paused for a moment and looked a little irritated. "We should at least talk inside the car. I'd rather not discuss what I have to say here, in the open. Please?" He gestured to my door and headed around to the passenger side. The movement was graceful, as if he was floating on air. I reluctantly climbed inside and let him in. I wasn't used to anyone other than my lanky brother sharing the car with me, and I was a little disconcerted at having to spend time in an enclosed space with my natural enemy.

He wasn't overly tall; we were similar in height, but that didn't make him any less intimidating. Around his neck, I saw defined muscle and sinew that suggested he was stronger than he appeared and his shoulders were broad. I found it difficult to estimate his age; he looked in his twenties but something about his crimson eyes told me he was older. His granite face was exceptionally well sculpted - handsome even - its boyish charm contradicting his aged eyes. But weren't all vampires beautiful? He is moving crystal, I reminded myself, not a flesh and blood man.

"Do you mind if I call you Leah?" he asked softly. He was exceptionally polite and well spoken, making even Edward Cullen seem coarse. He made _me_ feel rough like sandpaper.

"I'd rather you didn't call me anything," I snorted. "Why are you here? How did you find me?"

The vampire smiled. "I found you because that is what I do, and I'm very good at it. I'm exceptional, which is part of the reason I am here. The Volturi are a collection of only the best, most talented amongst our kind. We are now of the idea that maybe our number shouldn't be limited to just vampires. We would never consider a true werewolf, but your tribe interests us. We would like to know more about you and give you the opportunity to do likewise.

"I have been sent here to find a shape shifter who may be open to the idea of joining us in Volterra. I have been watching you from a distance for quite some time. I believe you are a little unhappy here in Washington, so you were my first choice. I'd like you to return with me to Italy."

"You want me to come and hang around with a bunch of vampires in Europe?" I laughed out loud, and for a moment I was unable to form any words. Something in the good-looking leech's face told me that the offer was in fact genuine, and that sobered my humour.

"Thanks, but no thanks. You eat humans, right? I don't fancy being lunch."

"I can assure you that I don't think of you as food." He grinned back at me. "You aren't completely human, in the generally accepted sense."

"Oh yeah. We smell as bad to you as you do to us." I blushed. "Like wet dog, right? Not exactly edible."

"Leah." he shook his head. "The vampires you are more accustomed to, their sense of smell is as off as their taste buds. You don't smell like wet dog. Granted some of your male counterparts do, but you smell like... nature."

"Nature?" I choked. I didn't know if he was toying with me or genuine. Certainly I'd like to think I didn't smell like damp canine.

"Yes, Leah." He smiled down at me. "Like a walk in the woods."

His voice was mesmerizing. For a second I succumbed to his vampire spell, as if I was a regular girl. Then I remembered that those pretty eyes, creasing in the corners as they observed me, were red with human blood.

Damn, the guy was slick.

"I'd much rather have _you_ come with me to Volterra," he said softly. "I get the feeling you'd be much better company than the others in your pack, _s__ei molto bella." _

"Say what?" I didn't know what he had said, but it sounded good. My insides were flipping at the sound of the words dripping off his tongue. Leah, he's a freaking vampire, remember that. I should rip his head off right now and save myself. He wasn't to be trusted.

"It means you are very beautiful, Leah," he explained. "I'd rather spend time with the female wolf than the males. I also get the feeling you may be a little more receptive than the boys."

He smiled knowingly; he knew exactly what he was doing to me. I guessed from his point of view he could hear the way my pulse had quickened. Damn vampire. If he thought he was going to get me to go with him, with a wink and a panty-dropping smile, he was greatly mistaken. I wasn't going to be resident guard dog for the Volturi. Did he really think I'd roll over and show him my belly?

Before I could open my mouth to tell him to go to hell, he spoke again. "I can tell you need more time to think about the offer, so I will leave you alone. But tomorrow night, head into the forest outside of your territory around midnight. You know the area better than I, so choose any spot you like. I trust you not to bring the rest of your pack; I like my head and my limbs attached. I will be alone and you will be safe. I only want your answer."

"But how will you know where I am?" I asked, as his hand moved to the door handle.

"I will find you, wherever you are." He smirked. "I'm the world's greatest tracker."

"Right." Was that meant to be reassuring or a threat? I wasn't entirely sure.

"Goodbye, Leah," he said smoothly as he exited my vehicle, looking quite pleased with himself. "_Mi piacerebbe da pazzi vederti nuda."_

"I don't speak Italian," I growled. I didn't like the effect the language had on me. He had reason to be smug; he'd managed to survive ten minutes in a car with a werewolf without being attacked. In fact, I was sure that he'd noticed that he'd done more than just appeal to my merciful side, and of course I hadn't outright refused his offer. Damn Italian words, rolling off a damn sexy vampire tongue.

"I know, _ciao bella_." He winked at me and walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

First of all, I did not have to give his question a second thought. I was not leaving La Push to go hang out in Italy with a bunch of evil, sadistic vampires. I thought back to the almost-war and remembered how sneaky and devious they were; they'd tell me anything, so long as it served their own purposes. They most likely wanted to experiment on me. I was not the type of werewolf they were accustomed to, and they probably thought that Demetri could sweet talk me into following him with a flutter of his eyelashes. How stupid did they think I was?

Hmm, part of me mused, I might not be planning to take up the opportunity they had so generously laid in front of me, but the eyelash fluttering had certainly caught my attention. After he had left, I thought about very little other than the Italian-speaking corpse. I felt sick to my stomach for lusting after him.

The amount of time I spent with half-naked, particularly buff men I shouldn't be reacting so much to one fully-clothed vampire boy. Maybe it was the mystery? Perhaps it was the fancy clothes, the exotic accent and his graceful demeanour. Or maybe just the fact that this vampire elicited more of a response from the human girl than the inner wolf.

I thought about meeting him in the woods and telling him to go back to Europe. I tried not to think about how the prospect of seeing him again gave me a little thrill, and how the memory of the earlier meeting in the car encouraged my imagination to get carried away. I was less than successful.

In the little scenario I was building in my head, things were less complicated. He was just a particularly pale, smoking hot human boy, and I was just Leah. Not Leah who was likely to have grey fur burst out all over at the first sign of anger, but just a girl. It was crazy, but I wondered if he found me as attractive as I found him. But why would he? Vampires didn't get it on with werewolves, or shape shifters.

I replayed his words over and over again in my mind. "_Mi piacerebbe da pazzi vederti nuda."_ What did that mean anyway? It sounded sexy, and the way he had looked at me when he said it had my internal organs dancing. Maybe there was hope yet.

I remembered his well sculpted face, his shoulders, the muscle and sinew on his neck, all preserved perfectly in my mind, and wondered how well-formed the rest of him would be. I stopped myself. Why was I torturing myself by fantasising over a vampire? I needed to get my head examined. Wolf and vampire, the combination just wasn't going to happen.

~X~

TRANSLATIONS:

_Sei molto bella_ – You are very beautiful.

_Mi piacerebbe da pazzi vederti nuda._ – I would like to see you naked later.

_Ciao bella_. – 'Bye beautiful.

~X~

**Top Tip of the Day: Get a fan fiction pre-reading friend and visit Project Team Beta. On this first chapter alone I've learnt so many new things, and although its not always easy to swallow how far you still have left to go to be up to standard. It's so helpful to get given a free education and use of other people's time and energy to help you make your story better. I heavily recommend using them.  
**


	2. Chapter 2 Forbidden Encounter

**NOTE – CHAPTERS 1 & 2 OF THIS STORY FORMED THE ORIGINAL ONE SHOT ENTERED INTO THE FORBIDDEN LEMON CONTEST. NOW I HAVE EXPANDED THIS STORY, THESE CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN AMENDED, AND CHAPTER 3 ONWARDS ADDED.**

I'm very grateful for all the help and encouragement I've been given for this story. To everyone who has voted, reviewed, put on alert, read or given me advice – thank you. No, really. Specific mentions: **TheRainGirl4** for reading through out of the goodness of her heart, **Nowforruin** and **Moonlightdreamer333** at **Project Team Beta** for a whole rake of help, advice and free education on this chapter.

********* Sorry for the confusing redo of the chapters. ****To prevent further confusion over the original one shot showing as Chapter 1 I have taken this down, so Chapter 1 is now Chapter 1 and so on. ****I just felt once the one shot became a multi-chapter, it would be better if Leah at least held out until Chapter 2 before getting her rocks off. Chapter 3 will be all new stuff, I promise! *****

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

~X~

**CHAPTER 2 – FORBIDDEN ENCOUNTER**

_You know that I want you,_

_And you know that I need you,_

_Because I'm a free bitch, baby,_

_I want a bad, bad romance._

Bad Romance, Lady Gaga

~X~

I'd had a sleepless night, tossing and turning with frustration, and the day hadn't been any easier on me. A knot of tension began forming in my stomach, as every hour brought me closer to seeing Demetri again. I was on edge.

When I saw Seth at breakfast, he warned me that a strange vampire was in the area, and to be careful. I rarely phased to catch up on the news via the pack mind; in fact I completely avoided the guys if I could. I thought it was better for everyone's mental well-being, including my own. I wasn't known for my easy-going nature and being around Sam only antagonised me.

If they knew I was going to meet the vampire later that night I doubted they would be overly impressed.

I needed to figure out some way to keep the guys out of the woods, and away from Demetri. For the first time in a long while, I volunteered to take a shift on patrol, ten until two in the morning. The guys were surprised, to say the least.

Now here I was in a clearing, waiting for him. I couldn't wear a watch once I changed; so I had no idea of the time, and thankfully, there was no one else in wolf form to hear my thoughts.

I paced a little more as a realization hit me. I was meant to be on patrol; maybe that had been the ploy all along, to leave La Push completely unprotected. But then I'd already run the perimeter, and only caught scent of one unfamiliar vampire, who would be here with me.

Nothing at all about the whole situation made sense. But what the hell. I was my own woman - I could do whatever I wanted. If that involved meeting sexy, non-vegetarian vampires in the woods outside of the territory, or turning down offers to go to Europe, so be it.

I sniffed and found he was close by. His scent had a sexy hint of musk, and the smell reminded me of my aromatherapy class. It was strong but I could get used to it, given the chance. Personally I'd spent much longer in the bathroom than I usually did, I was unsure whether smelling of a walk in the woods was a good thing or not. Not that all my lotions and potions made much difference now I was an animal.

Knowing he was so near, I phased back to human form, which left me naked. I reached down for the Velcro pouch that contained my clothing, before I became aware of his presence in the clearing with me.

"No need to get dressed on my account, Leah."

My heart pounded as I turned to see Demetri appraising my form with hungry eyes. The way he said my name flipped my stomach again. "Lee-ahh." I definitely had a thing for British accents. I felt very aware of my undressed state, and I shifted awkwardly as he moved further into the clearing, his heavy aroma filling my nostrils.

"There is no need to feel self-conscious," he whispered as he suddenly materialized only feet in front of me. "To have a body like that... you should be proud to show it." His deep crimson eyes ran up and down my naked form appreciatively.

"You know for a guy with manners, you should know it's very rude to spy on undressed women. Turn around, asshole," I barked, trying my best to hide my embarrassment with an aggressive front.

"I do apologize," he offered as he complied with my request. "You know, I think you are genetically perfect."

I pulled on my old denim skirt and vest. "I would give anything to have different genes. I never wanted to be a werewolf, and I would give it up tomorrow if I could. You can turn around now."

"But, we can't help what we are. Can we?" Demetri smiled. His intense stare made me feel as if I was still naked. "If you are unhappy here, maybe you could be happier elsewhere. Have you made a decision?"

I hesitated for a second, and I felt almost disappointed that I was about to turn him down. It was ridiculous. I had no desire to go see the Volturi, but I did have the desire to spend more time with the vampire in front of me. I was in lust, I realised. It really shouldn't have been happening but I was highly sexually attracted to him. I shouldn't have been there, I shouldn't have felt this, and he shouldn't have seemed interested in return, but that was how it was.

"No, I don't think going to Italy with you is a good idea."

"I see." He looked a little downcast. "I did expect this decision, although I hoped you might decide otherwise."

We paused for a second. I was unsure what to do next, or whether it was time to just say goodbye and leave. I didn't want to leave it at that.

"If you won't come with me to Volterra," Demetri began, looking a little apprehensive, "I wonder whether you might feel any different about going away for a while, somewhere different, with me."

I blinked a few times, unsure if I had heard correctly.

"Leah, _t__i__ desidero__ disperatamente._ I want you, and I want you badly. Please, come away with me. I have never met another creature like you; you are unique. We can go anywhere you like, and they'll never find us. Not the Volturi, not your pack, no one."

I was undone, and my head was filled with nothing but thoughts of this undead hot guy in front of me. He had just admitted he wanted me too. What is more he had told me in Italian, and turned me into a quivering, panting wreck.

"You see," I began, suspicion only just nudging ahead of my lust, "I don't get why _you_, a vampire, would be attracted to _me_, a werewolf."

"Ah, Leah." He smiled as he moved in even closer, circling me. "Why wouldn't I? You are beautiful and I don't like weak women. I have come across so many in my time, all variations on the same theme, but _you_ are different. You are the only female shape shifter, and there's not another like you in the world. Your attitude intrigues me too, as I do enjoy a challenge. I want to find out what you are really like. It's not just the Volturi that want to know more; _I_ want to know more."

He ran a finger down my arm; it was cold, colder still when compared to the temperature of my own skin. I shivered and looked into his burning eyes, and realised whether I trusted him or not, I was his. Lust thudded through my veins with such force it made me dizzy. He gasped at my reaction, as he tangled his icy hand in my hair, and brought his mouth to my own.

He kissed me; at first I was horrified at the thought of his teeth behind those lips. It sent bristles up and down my spine. After all, wasn't venom meant to be poisonous to me? I did not stop him, and luckily I had no adverse reaction.

The feeling of his cold, stone-like lips on my flaming, copper skin was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. The difference in temperature shocked me, and set my mind thinking of how other connections might feel. As my mind raced ahead I responded eagerly.

His hands traced the outline of my curves, almost touching my skin, but never quite making contact. I gasped at his coldness.

"_Fa molto caldo qui, è la tua presenza? _I don't even have to touch you to feel your heat. I never expected you to be so hot." Demetri's voice was thick with lust.

"I'm a wolf," I croaked. "The body heat comes with the territory."

He groaned at some undisclosed thought. His moan aroused me more, and I pulled his mouth back to mine.

My wolf prejudices had somehow planted the idea in my mind that a vampire would taste bloody, but instead Demetri just tasted like any other man, if not a little sweeter. He was like fruit flavour candy; you knew it wasn't natural and very bad for you, but it still tasted good. It had been drummed into me that everything about their kind was artificial and an illusion. I toyed with the idea, before concluding that everything about him that mattered was real enough for me at this moment in time.

Now that I was closer, I realised that he was much more muscular than I had assumed earlier. I wound my feverish arms around his toned shoulders and my fingers ran through his perfectly styled hair. In response, he curled his arm around my waist and crushed me closer into his solid rock body. We stopped kissing for a second; I was panting, and he didn't even appear to be breathing.

What was I doing? If the pack found out about this, if _Sam_ found out about this, I hated to think what my punishment would be. Would they throw me out of the pack? Out of La Push? Worse? The idea of a wolf having 'relations' with a vampire was so unthinkable that I didn't think there was a specific rule.

Sam would not be happy with me; he would be livid. I was likely to be put in my place for the lesser crime of abandoning my post while on duty. That would probably involve Paul taking a chunk out of me. He was Sam's acting beta as Jacob spent so little time with the pack these days. The sick fuck would probably get a kick out of disciplining me, and use it as an opportunity to reassert his position as Sam's second in command.

A moment of bitterness took hold; the thought of pissing off Sam and going against all things wolf clinched it for me. After all, what consideration had I been shown in the past? I was a jilted lover and the pack bitch. I didn't owe them anything.

I tried to pull Demetri's coat off his shoulders in my sudden desperation to rebel. He assisted me, and once his arms were free, he pulled me close again. Under his jacket he wore a light grey sweater, its thin material doing little to warm his unnatural flesh underneath.

We kissed again, passionately, violently. It had been a long while since any man had gotten close to me, and I put all my pent-up frustration into the exchange. I wasn't going to stop unless he was, and by the way he was responding, I doubted he was planning on stopping any time soon.

One of his hands moved up to my breast, and I took a sharp intake of breath at his cold touch. He made an appreciative noise against my mouth, and I guessed he was feeling the opposite. As his hand kneaded me, I ran my hands down his back to his firm buttocks. Actually did I say firm? Sam's buttocks used to be firm; these cheeks took it to a whole new level.

Demetri's hand dropped from my breast and he lifted me effortlessly, his mouth never leaving mine. I wrapped my legs around him as he rushed us over to the edge of the clearing with vampire speed, pinning me up against a tree. I was a little shocked at the motion, tightening the grip of my legs more firmly around his waist once I felt the rough bark behind me. I revelled in the feel of his granite body.

Now that he could free his hands, he reached up and removed his sweater, and I stared in awe at what he revealed. Wanting to feel his perfectly sculpted chest against my own, I removed my vest and threw it to the ground to join his top. I pressed myself against him. His chest was firm and cold against my warm, yielding breasts and it sent an intensely pleasant shock throughout my body.

Our heated kissing resumed, and his hands wandered, beginning to warm as they stole my heat. They moved down to my thighs and began a slow, firm upwards trail. Once his hands reached the hem of my denim skirt, it too joined the journey, until the skirt was bunched up around my hips and his hands were gripping my ass firmly. I gasped at the exposure and arched myself into him, grinding myself into the evidence of his arousal through his black pants.

"You are so unbelievably hot. I wonder if you are as hot everywhere." One of his hands snaked its way around my thigh to my centre.

I felt as if I was boiling alive inside my own skin. He groaned as he found that out for himself, the temperature of his fingers making me jump a little as they rubbed over me.

"Scorching."

My silent assault of his mouth began again, my hands tangling in his mussed hair, as he explored between my legs. I was blisteringly aware that his exploration felt amazing, and decided I liked cold guys, a lot. He inserted a finger inside me, then two, almost causing me to come undone at the icy invasion. I was very ready for him.

After unwrapping my legs, I stood trembling as he began slowly withdrawing and then thrusting his cold fingers back into me. My limbs no longer felt solid, but I tried my best to unfasten his belt, clumsy with my urgency. He eventually used his free hand to assist me, and his pants dropped to his ankles, swiftly followed by his underwear.

My eyes took the opportunity to assess his physique; his manhood was larger than what I had been used to previously, and his whitish-grey skin covered perfectly sculpted muscles. I smiled in satisfaction. I liked what I saw, and didn't mind that he saw me looking.

Demetri lifted me by my thighs and I gripped him tighter around his waist, as he pressed me more firmly into the tree. The hand that had been between my legs was warm and slick in contrast to his other hand. His mouth closed on my breast, and for a second I panicked at the thought of his teeth so close to my racing heart. A few moments later I began to relax and enjoy the sensation. It didn't feel safe, but I got off on the danger and groaned my appreciation.

His mouth released my breast, and I felt him line himself up to penetrate me.

"Wait!" I gasped. He froze and looked into my eyes. His were black with lust, with only the slightest hint of red around the edge, but they looked shocked and concerned at my sudden exclamation.

"Do you have," I began, my voice husky with my desire, "you know, a condom?"

"Oh," he started, looking confused for a second, before something registered in his mind. "Oh, yes, they don't really work with me."

I felt the cold chill of disappointment, which must have registered in my eyes as I resigned myself that this was as far as we could go. I wouldn't have sex with anyone that didn't respect my body, after all, neither of us were virgins. I began to feel slightly pissed off. It was enough that I was running the risk of venom getting into my bloodstream without the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

"Not like that," he looked into my eyes sincerely. "They _really_ don't work with my body, as I dissolve them very quickly. Besides my body is a pretty inhospitable environment for diseases. You have nothing to worry about."

He paused for a second, while I tried to decide whether I believed him. I knew from Jake that Bella couldn't spend much time around Forks when she allegedly came home from college. I'd been told that was because her brown contact lenses disintegrated due to the venom in her eyes. After a few moments, I decided that what Demetri told me was true. I just needed to make sure I didn't break my skin.

I used my heels to pull him further in towards me, until his cock was at my soaking entrance.

"Only if you are sure," Demetri whispered into my ear.

"Yes," I sighed. "Very sure."

With that he flexed his hips, and thrusted up into me. We both gasped; he was cold and very hard, and I assumed I felt very much the opposite to him. He withdrew and plunged forcefully back into me; I gasped again, but this time I was more prepared for his temperature. He thrust once more, the force scraping my back against the bark of the tree. I thanked heavens for rapid healing, the feeling only barely registering in comparison to the other sensations.

I clung to him, closing my eyes; my body was hotter than ever. I began to sweat as his motions became less forceful but quicker, feeling tingling pressure building in my hips that caused me to whimper. I began to arch and move my hips with his rhythm, greedily taking as much of him as I could fit into my body.

"Oh, Leah," he groaned in response. "You're fantastic, so hot and wet."

I opened my eyes and watched him. His head was buried in the curve of my neck. He wasn't breaking a sweat and I noticed he didn't seem to be moving with the effort of breathing at all.

"You're one hot fucking vampire, literally," I groaned. He smiled and recaptured my mouth.

The rhythm became more frantic, fast but hard, and I found myself teetering on the brink of orgasm. My whimpers became screams, and my hands frantically gripped his shoulders, his back, his neck...

"I want this. I can't believe how much I want this," Demetri said under his breath, and his obvious enjoyment pushed me over the edge.

I yelled as a wash of pleasure ran over me, arching and pressing my pulsating core onto him until the final wave passed. It left me feeling comfortably numb and fuzzy. He stiffened and released inside me. The friction and my own heat had warmed those parts in contact with me, and for a while his temperature had felt almost human. But this new sensation was wet and much colder than expected.

Demetri hissed, his eyes crazed, and he dropped me suddenly. If for a moment I had forgotten that he was a monster, I was reminded then. He reappeared almost immediately at the other side of the clearing, as I slumped to the ground. He was in a crouch, his teeth bared and he looked prepared to pounce any second.

Another hiss triggered my natural urge to defend myself. I dropped forward, as my hands and feet became paws, and tremors down my spine preceded the sudden bursting of fur from my pores. My denim skirt ripped to shreds as I expanded. My head became that of a wolf, and I too bared my teeth and snarled.

For a second we threatened each other across the clearing, before Demetri held his hands up.

"Give me a second," he growled, before his voice softened. "Keeping someone alive after sex is new to me. For a moment I was too aware of the fact you were flesh and blood."

I reluctantly gave up my defensive stance but did not return to human form. Eventually, he appeared more relaxed, stood upright and retrieved his pants from around his ankles and fastened them.

"Sorry," he began, "I guess we can't help our subconscious reactions. Will you change back? I'm a little nervous about having a post coital moment with a wolf."

I took a moment before I returned to my usual shape.

"Thank you," he said politely, before moving swiftly to where the remainder of our clothes laid. "Oh, your skirt is ruined."

"Damn," I said flatly. I'd only just refilled my wardrobe once I'd stopped regularly phasing. I walked over, and stuffed my abandoned vest and the larger pieces of the skirt inside my Velcro pouch. Demetri offered me his sweater but I declined, my brother would sniff it out, and if I put it in the wash my mother would question me. I decided temporary nakedness until I resumed my patrol was the safest option.

He sat and leaned against the tree we'd just christened, and motioned for me to join him. I sat next to him, very aware of my bareness. I looked at him; once more we were just Demetri and Leah, not werewolf and vampire.

"_E stato stupendo._" He smiled; he'd obviously noted what the Italian language did to me earlier. "That was amazing. Have you thought about what I said earlier? Will you come away with me?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I'm not sure what to make of it all. I enjoyed _that_, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave La Push just yet."

Demetri looked down at his feet for a moment. "I will be around for about a week before I go back to Italy. I'll come here every night, and hopefully before I have to go you will have decided." He fiddled with a twig and avoided my eyes.

"You'll be here tomorrow?" I beamed back at him. Oh yes, I liked that thought.

"Yes, I will be. Will you?"

"Try and keep me away," I replied a little too hastily, and then blushed with mortification at my slip. Yes, I was capable of blushing.

Demetri lifted his hand to my cheek, and moved in to kiss me slowly.

"Then I will let you get back to guarding your reservation, Leah. _Domani alla stessa ora?_ Same time tomorrow?" He smirked seductively.

"When you say it in Italian, how can I say no?" I smirked back. Damn that voice of his.

He kissed me once more and got up to leave, as he walked away I fastened my pouch around my ankle and phased. Demetri stopped and turned at the edge of the clearing.

"I will see you tomorrow,_ la lupa_."

I barked in understanding, and bounded off into the trees, grateful that for now I was the only one in wolf form.

I was aware Paul would be coming to relieve me of duty soon and so I promised myself I would be extra vigilant on my next circuit of the res. I kept my nose to the ground, in case something funny had been going on elsewhere while I was otherwise occupied. I found nothing out of the ordinary, other than Demetri's aroma faintly drifting off toward the northeast part of the territory, so I continued my route until Paul came to replace me.

Once I had to share what was running through my head, I kept my thoughts clean by running through the contents of my wardrobe, something girly that he wouldn't comprehend. Luckily my trip home was short, as my wardrobe was small.

I looked forward to being back in human form, so I could take a shower and be sure of being alone with my thoughts. But even more, I looked forward to tomorrow's repeat performance. I made a mental note to look up a few choice Italian phrases in the meantime; two could play that game.

~X~

TRANSLATIONS:

_Ti desidero disperatamente._ – I want you desperately.

_Fa molto caldo qui, è la tua presenza?_ – Is it hot in here, or is it you?

_E stato stupendo._ – That was amazing.

_Domani alla stessa ora?_ - Same time tomorrow?

_La lupa__ – _She wolf.


	3. Chapter 3 Found Out

CHAPTER 3 – FOUND OUT

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks to Nowforruin and sangrealfire at PTB for looking over this for me, I really appreciate your comments. New, improved version, now with less monologue. Although if I had great sex with Demetri I'd go on about it too! :)**

**(No Lemons, lots of Angst – consider this a warning!)**

_Something's missing and I don't know why,  
I always feel the need to hide my feelings from you.  
Is it me or you that I'm afraid of?  
I tell myself 'I'll show you what I'm made of,  
Can't bring myself to let you go._

Bad Girl, Madonna

Once my eyes were closed, I was dead to the world until my alarm clock tore me from my sleep. My dreams had been full of the events that had taken place in the forest with my vampire partner in crime. I'd relived every touch, every caress, and felt every spike of pleasure ten times over while I'd slept. So this morning I was pretty damn happy. I had forgotten how good it felt to be sexually satisfied. It was even better knowing there was more to come.

I got up and ready for my part-time job. Our family wasn't exactly wealthy, and while I finished my courses and opened up my own shop, I was a part-time cashier. I skipped downstairs and kissed my mom on the cheek as I breezed out the door without breakfast. By her expression, I believed she was wondering who had taken her daughter and replaced her with this pleasant, carefree stranger.

I began to notice passers-by turning to stare, or they caught my eye and smiled back, rather than looking away nervously like they normally did. At first I thought I had something on my face, or my ass was on show, before I caught sight of myself in a window and realised that the reason was me. I looked happy, and a smile did so much more for my face than a scowl.

As I gave the few customers who walked through the door service-with-a-smile, I thought a little about my situation. Demetri had a week left in La Push, and I didn't want this feeling to end. It seemed irresponsible to leave my family, my studies and my job in pursuit of good sex, although I had to admit the thought of leaving all my pain in La Push was very appealing.

I had no idea what I was going to do. I knew my head should prevail over my hormones, but my badly patched-up heart screamed at me for a fresh start.

Well, I had a week to decide. Maybe that would be long enough to get all the mad, passionate, vampire sex out of my system. Maybe it would make me hungry for more. I needed to be cautious, as I doubted my mangled heart could take another blow like Sam. This was just sex, a bit of fun, nothing more.

After my shift had finished, I grabbed a couple of pizzas on the way home for myself and Seth. Mom was staying at Charlie's tonight, leaving us wolves to fend for ourselves. Seth was still going through the wolf growth spurt and the amount of food he ate was gross. I seemed to have reached my peak. Shape shifters attained the physical form of a twenty-five year old regardless of age, and stayed that way until they could stop phasing. Certainly at twenty-three years, I looked a little older than I actually was.

I did not phase very often. I was best out of the pack mind, and away from the torture that was being a party to Sam's thoughts. The hurt and pain that it caused only brought out the worst in me. If I kept away, I managed to get some kind of closure on the situation, if you could call it that. Maybe a bit of light-hearted fun would help heal me and I could finally move on. Maybe it would just help me forget for a while. Either way, it was what I needed.

Another reason for not phasing was the fact that someday I hoped to have children, once I could start aging again. I had no menstrual cycle, and I missed what that stood for. Fertility. I guessed this week I was going to be spending a lot more time in wolf form to see Demetri, and I would have to forget about my pledge to stop phasing to try to become a regular human girl.

Once I got home, Seth greeted me with a big smile as I walked through the door bearing food. I tossed him a box and we sat in the living room watching trashy prime time television.

"So you've volunteered to do another patrol tonight." My baby-faced brother finally spoke after he'd devoured the entire pizza I'd given him.

"Yep," I mumbled, around a mouthful of dough, cheese and tomato.

"You never volunteer. What's with that?"

"Just felt like it." I shrugged.

Seth looked at me, he wasn't convinced. "You seem different today, not your normal self. Have you been taking happy pills or something?"

I laughed out loud. "So now I'm not allowed to have a good day once in a while? Don't you think it's about time I learned to enjoy life a little? I can't spend my entire life moping about Sam and being a werewolf. Maybe for now I've just found a different way of looking at things."

Seth gave me a strange look; he seemed to sniff the air and his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Guess you found that vampire."

I grunted my non-committal reply.

"Do you have a new boyfriend?" he asked me.

"Why do you ask?"

"Do you?"

"So what if I do? It's none of your goddamn business." I tried to look nonchalant and not smirk as I took another mouthful of pizza.

"What does that mean? Is it someone I know?"

"What the hell is this? Spanish-freaking-Inquisition?" Part of me secretly hoped this conversation would leak out next time Seth was part of the pack mind. Leah and someone other than Sam. What a scandal!

The rest of the pack would have a field day with their male, hormonal, teenage minds. I got sick of them panting over my naked female form when they caught me changing back to human before I could get dressed. It got to the point where if any of the guys thought about me just one more time, I was going to have to remove the goddamn organ they did their thinking with.

For a moment, I almost returned to my bitter self until I remembered that tonight I was meeting Demetri again. One thing was for sure; whether or not I planned to go anywhere with him, I was making the most of this week.

A million thoughts of Demetri and what could happen raced through my mind, and for a moment, I was lost in my own head. Once I snapped out of it, I noticed Seth staring at me. I didn't need to be in his head to know he was caught between brotherly protectiveness, versus being happy that his sister was on the mend.

Later that evening, I packed a pair of cut-offs and a black vest into my Velcro pouch, wishing I owned nicer portable clothing. I gathered by the pace we'd set last night that I wouldn't be wearing them long. Seth had arranged a night with Jacob at the Cullens' house, so at least I wouldn't have to worry if I had to sneak back into the house naked. Once I was out the back door, I took off my clothes on the porch before I changed into my animal shape.

Immediately I was aware of a number of others in my head than just Jared, who I was meant to be relieving.

"_Leah."_ I heard Sam's voice. "_Would you like to come join us? We'd like to have a word with you._" It wasn't a request, it was an order.

"_Oh shit,_" I thought, before I could stop it escaping. I slunk over to the spot all the other wolves had congregated, and entered the circle with my ears back and my tail low. _They knew, I was in trouble._ Damn, they heard that too.

The rest of the pack, without Jacob and Seth, stood in a circle. Paul in particular looked restless pacing by Sam's side. _Discipline, crap._ Damn, I hated the pack mind.

"_Leah,"_ Sam began. _"You know why you are here. Is there something you want to tell us?_"

I got a flash from Paul's mind, an image of small fragments of skirt and the smell in a familiar clearing to the North East of the territory. The same smell clung to me now. Vampire. _Damn, found out_.

"_Ok, I'm sorry. I was on patrol last night. I kind of took a break in human form. I neglected my duties, and I'm sorry."_

A mental murmur ran around the circle. I realised I wasn't going to get off with just an apology. I was going to play Omega wolf and they were going to gang up on me for the sake of pack stability and discipline. _Damn, damn and damn._

"_You took a goddamn break?"_ Sam snarled. "_I could tell you did more than that!"_

"_I was wrong to leave La Push unprotected,"_ I retorted. _"The reason why I did it is none of your freaking business!"_

"_On the contrary Leah,"_ Sam replied. I could tell he was very angry; angry with me. _"If you are putting us all at risk we all deserve to know the reason. I think you should admit to everyone what you were doing."_

"_Not on your life,"_ I growled back. This was about more than pack discipline; this was personal. _"I'm sure you've all caught from Paul exactly what he found. You don't need to know all my private details."_

Paul moved in front of Sam and took an aggressive stance. Sam never could discipline me himself.

"_Leah, I _order_ you to tell us what went on in that clearing last night while you were meant to be guarding the res. While a threat was in the area. A strange vampire."_

It was an alpha command. I tried my hardest to prevent myself from complying but the thoughts escaped me, and the whole pack saw the scenario replayed in my mind. They saw and heard everything, and my humiliation was complete.

Sam reacted more than most; the twinge he registered caused a pull in my own chest. We both quickly caught ourselves before the spiral of pain could begin for all to see. I decided the pack had seen enough for one night, and I hid the hurt with aggression.

"_We weren't under threat; the vampire was with me the whole time. Who I choose to meet and have sex with is my own business. Admittedly, I shouldn't have done it on pack time."_

"_What if there were others?"_

"_I did a circuit, and I smelled no-one else. We were twenty minutes max."_ I knew I was going to get my punishment tenfold for my insolence, but I was unable to help myself.

"_It doesn't matter how long you were whoring yourself out for. The fact was you left us unprotected. Wolves do not have sex with vampires; we're here to kill them! He almost killed you himself."_

"_Have you told Jacob that?"_ I snapped.

"_Told Jacob what?"_ Sam looked puzzled.

"_That vampires and werewolves don't have sex. He's going to be awfully pissed if he waits until Nessie grows up and he's stuck as just the family dog."_

For a second Sam was speechless. I noticed Quil agreed that I had a good point, before Paul glared and he cowered.

"_That's different,"_ Sam argued feebly.

"_How different? Once he imprinted I didn't see you interrogating him."_

"_You haven't imprinted. He wasn't having sex when he should have been on patrol."_

"_What if female wolves don't imprint? I don't have the choice to sleep with whoever I want? If I want to have goddamn sex with a vampire, I will have goddamn sex with a vampire!"_

Sam was livid, and I sensed his jealousy. This was definitely about more than just the correctness of vampire/werewolf sex.

"_Leah, you idiot! What the hell do you think would happen if you went to Italy? They'd interrogate you, probably kill you. He's using you to find about the pack."_

"_I never said I was going to Italy. And using me?" _I snarled and gnashed my teeth. _"Trust me, I know exactly what being used feels like. Say hi to my cousin when you go home, Sam."_

Sam reeled for a second at my low bow. "_That has nothing to do with this."_

"_It has everything to do with this. If it hadn't happened, I wouldn't be meeting vampires in the woods. You wouldn't be making more of this than there really is. I did wrong doing it on pack time, but other than that it's my own business and I will see whoever I want to. Ok?"_

"_Leah, this is for your own good. You know he's poisonous to you right? One drop of venom in your bloodstream and that's it."_

"_I can assure you that the venom wasn't in my bloodstream,"_ I spat back, every syllable calculated to hurt him.

Sam snorted; he had lost patience with me and my smart mouth. He signalled to Paul, who leapt towards me teeth bared, and knocked me to the ground. He grabbed a mouthful of my fur on my shoulder and I yelped, as I tried to twist and allow my jaw to make contact with him.

We rolled, twisted and growled as we battled for supremacy. Paul was stronger than I, and he quickly beat me into a submissive position with his mouth around my throat. Eventually I lay there silent, bloodied, and humiliated.

Sam approached. I could tell it distressed him to order Paul attack me. Sometimes he let our past history get in the way of the needs of the pack. Personally, I found the reminder of what we used to be more hurtful.

"_You are not to meet this vampire again. You aren't allowed to patrol on your own until you can be trusted not to leave us in such a vulnerable position. You will learn your place in the pack."_

All I could manage was to growl my disappointment as Paul let go and allowed me to stand on all fours. I'd been commanded by my alpha, and there was no way to resist. I could not see Demetri again.

But something told me this was wrong. Something inexplicable was pushing me to defy the alpha order that had been set in stone. I couldn't comply; I _had_ to see Demetri. Every fiber of my being was calling me.

I noticed the pack watching me apprehensively, as confused by what was going through my mind as I was. Until something happened, and I was on my own even though I was still in wolf form. I could see the pack, but not hear them.

I was free of the pack mind. Something I could not comprehend had made it impossible for me to follow the hierarchy, and I was cut off. The silence scared me and I backed out of the circle. The other wolves looked around at each other, and it was disorientating not knowing what they were thinking.

Sam made a motion towards me. He didn't seem aggressive, but it startled me and I turned and bolted through the trees. I ran as fast as my paws could carry me. I may not have been the strongest or the best fighter in the pack, but I was definitely the fastest. They would never catch me.

I headed east at first, weaving through the trees, until I suddenly changed direction, and then again. I had no idea where I was heading, only knowing that I had to lose the pack. It felt like I ran for hours before I eventually stopped and phased back into human form. Dirty, covered in my own dried blood and naked; I fell to my knees and wailed.


	4. Chapter 4 Come Away

CHAPTER 4 – COME AWAY

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Lemons, and a hint of angst.**

**Thanks to TheRainGirl4 for helping me by reading through my story and giving me good advice on my early drafts. Please read her one shot Extraordinary Girl, it's a nominee for the Shimmer Awards (Heatwave Award – Best Lemon). If you read you will see why.**

**Also, a co-worker of mine is on a u t h o n o m y (dot) c o m (a Harper Collins website) and he could do with some support for his original story 'The Wizard of Crescent Moon Mountain'. If you like stories like The Hobbit I recommend you have a mosey on over there!**

**Thank you to the lovely people at PTB for their help yet again, namely solareclipses and batgirl8968. I do appreciate the free education you're giving me :)**

~X~**  
**

_We can never go home,_

_We no longer have one._

_I'll help you carry the load,_

_I'll carry you in my arms._

_The kiss of the snow,_

_The crescent moon above us,_

_Our blood is cold and we're alone,_

_But I'm alone with you._

No Sound But The Wind, The Editors

~X~

After a while, I got dressed and attempted to clean myself up a little. All my belongings were still in La Push, and the only possessions I had with me were an old vest and a pair of cut-offs in my Velcro pouch. I couldn't go back there; maybe I could find a town and ring Seth and ask... Oh right, no money.

If I knocked on someone's door, maybe they would take pity on me and allow me to use their landline. But first I would have to find somewhere inhabited; I had no idea where I was, and it was the middle of the night. I'd have to hang around until morning before disturbing anyone. Crap.

I settled myself against a tree and tried to make myself comfortable. My body was exhausted, but I wasn't in the mood to sleep. The wind blew in my direction and informed me that I was no longer on my own.

"Leah." A pleasant voice wrapped itself around my name, but I was too caught up in my feelings to respond. "Are you okay? I hope you don't mind that I followed you here."

I looked up at Demetri; part of me wanted him to come over and comfort me, but instead he kept his distance. I managed an unconvincing smile.

"What happened? You took off on your own; two of your pack followed you for a while before they broke off the chase. Is there any particular reason you ran off? I think we're just southeast of Lake Cushman."

I took a moment to recover the power of speech before answering, swallowing down my pain and bitterness. "They found out what we did last night. I got disciplined, and now I'm no longer part of the pack."

"They threw you out?"

"I'm not sure what happened. I don't think I was thrown out, but _something_ happened. It may have been me that disconnected."

"Disconnected?"

I forgot that he knew very little about the inner workings of the wolf pack and decided not to elaborate. Sam thought the vampire was using me for information; I didn't want to prove him right. I pondered what hid behind Demetri's pretty, black eyes and whether I could trust him.

"If you don't mind," I began nervously, "I think it's probably best if I do take up that offer to come away with you for a while. I suppose some company is better than none." He smiled, despite my automatic insult; I regretted sounding so dismissive.

"I wish it was under better circumstances, but yes, I would like that. Let's go find a motel; you look like you could do with a rest. And we can clean that...blood...off you."

I followed his gaze to my shoulder and noticed that the long healed bite mark Paul gave me had left me covered in my own dried blood. There was a lot more than I expected, and I realised now why his eyes were so dark. So much for not smelling like 'nature', not food.

"Oh."

"It's okay. It's just best if I keep my distance for now. Do you mind changing? It's a little more inhabited further south."

I got to my weary feet, undressed and phased; I was too tired to think about my nakedness. I loped along beside Demetri, unable to run at my usual pace. I realised he was holding back for my benefit. We exited the woods and ran alongside an unfamiliar road, eventually coming across a city called Shelton. I phased back into human form, and found a quiet place to wait on the outskirts while Demetri located a motel.

I felt bad that I had nothing with me other than the clothes on my back, but he assured me that wasn't an issue. I hated feeling indebted to people, but for now I was too tired and emotional to care.

After a while, a taxi pulled up and a familiar voice called for me. I wondered what the driver made of the grubby, bloody, moody Native American girl in cut-offs and a vest sitting in the back and the pale, menacing, gothic-looking guy in the front. He obviously knew something wasn't quite right; once we reached our destination, I'd never seen anyone drive away so quickly. It seemed almost painful for him to wait for a tip.

The motel wasn't anything special, but it had a bathroom and a bed, and right now the only thing on my mind was a shower and sleep. I peeled off my clothes and stepped under the water, making it as warm as I could stand. Demetri had brought me some toiletries, for which I was very grateful: some jeans; a plain white t-shirt, which was a little too tight for me; sneakers and some rather skimpy looking underwear. I guessed the latter was for his benefit. No pyjamas, I noticed.

Once I'd finished in the bathroom, I came back into the small bedroom. Demetri was sitting in the old armchair in the corner. I'd forgotten just how breathtaking this vampire was. He looked like he didn't know what to do with himself. I sympathised; it felt strange trying to act normal around him, as neither of us was normal.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him appraise my skimpy panties and t-shirt combo. Well, maybe there was a hint of typical male in there after all.

"I would have gotten you some food, but I wasn't quite sure what you ate."

"Cheeseburgers," I replied, with a wan smile. "Pizza, pasta and on occasion, salad."

"Good," he smiled back. "For a moment there I thought I was going to have to go catch a few rabbits or some other kind of small, furry animal. Human food is a lot more convenient."

"It's ok," I yawned. "I can eat both, but I'm not hungry. I just need to sleep; I'm exhausted." I stared at him as I appreciated what he had done for me this evening. Between Demetri and the Cullens, I was having to reassess my opinion of my natural enemy. "You know, for an evil, sadistic vampire, you're actually quite considerate."

He beamed widely, and as the light glinted off his teeth, I reminded myself not to ask about his diet. He moved over to the bed and lay on one side, lifting the quilt and beckoning for me to climb inside.

"Madame."

I chuckled at his flamboyant gesture and stumbled wearily across the room to comply. The bed was old and lumpy, but I was so tired it felt like the most welcoming, comfortable place in the world. Demetri lay a heavy arm across my stomach and looked down at me, leaning his head on his other arm.

"Enjoy your sleep," he whispered in his spellbinding voice, as his scarlet eyes bore into me. "I do believe you need it. We'll have a proper discussion tomorrow and decide what we are going to do once you are awake."

He leaned towards me and kissed me chastely. Despite my fatigue, my pulse doubled its pace.

"Sweet dreams, _la lupa,_" he smirked.

"Damn Italian vampires," was all I could mutter deliriously before sleep quickly claimed me.

~X~

That night I dreamed of fighting wolves and running through the forest, aware of a large black wolf chasing me. I could not shake him off, even running at full speed. I was following something, but I was unsure what it was. All I knew was that there was an irresistible draw, and above everything, I needed to find the source. I couldn't let anything stop me. All I found was more trees and darkness.

When I finally awoke, the sun was bright through the window, and my head felt heavy. I was alone on the bed, but it didn't take long for my eyes to settle on the dark figure hidden behind a large unfolded map in the armchair. The corner of the map folded down, and an inhumanly beautiful face smiled at me once it revealed itself.

"Good afternoon."

I stretched and smiled back at him. He was right; waking up to a voice like that, how could it be anything else? "Yes, very good."

"Did you sleep well? You twitch and growl when you dream. It was very amusing, watching you."

"I had strange dreams, but apart from that, yeah, I slept great."

Demetri put the map down and walked over to the bed gracefully. He was dressed in his usual charcoal and grey attire; his fair hair was in its customary style, and his face had its smirk in place. What was different, was the way his skin shimmered in the light. He wasn't the first vampire I'd ever seen, and I knew what happened to them in direct sunlight, but this was the first time I had ever seen it with my own eyes.

This unnatural, glittering creature crawled across the bed and settled down next to me. I noted that his eyes were now bright crimson, rather than the black they had been when he found me in the woods; much brighter than earlier meetings. I stared, entranced, and shook my head to try and remove the fog from my brain. I must still be dreaming, in Technicolor, as nothing in real life looked this perfect.

"So," he began, "how are you feeling today?"

"I'm not sure; I'll tell you when I wake up. I'm still asleep," I said, as I eyed him dubiously.

Ruby eyes looked back at me in confusion, until they caught sight of the sun on vampire skin. His sparkling lips curled upwards.

"I will take that as a compliment." His words melted over me like warm butter. I realized that I was in fact wide awake, my companion just wasn't human. Crystal fingers ran through my short dark hair. "You're rather fetching yourself this morning, and I can assure you that you aren't dreaming. Please allow me to demonstrate."

Granite lips met with mine, and I felt his hands run down my body through the barrier of the quilt; over my breasts, round my hips, resting on my thighs. My stomach twisted with the sensation, and I tangled my fingers in his fair hair as I responded to his kiss, exploring his mouth with my own.

Demetri rolled over and pinned my covered form. My heart pounded-in the sunlight I was very aware that I was sharing the bed with an unnatural man-eater. It felt risky putting myself in such a vulnerable position, but while his tongue slid against mine, I was not inclined to protest. Instead, I arched my body upwards, inviting more contact. My inhuman lover returned the gesture, grinding his hips into mine. Feeling his erection through the blankets made me frantic with lust, and I arched again.

He stopped and looked at me before pulling off his sweater. I made the most of the freedom to move to push off the blankets, and I went to remove my t-shirt-the only garment of consequence that I was wearing. He saw what I was doing, and he stopped my hands.

"Wait," he groaned. "I want to do that." His hands slowly lifted the material further and further up my body; following its trail with his mouth.

Once my breasts were exposed, my t-shirt's journey paused, bunched up under my arms. Demetri kneaded my soft peaks in his cold hands, before teasing my already puckered nipples with his icy tongue. The sensation was so electrifying, I couldn't help but vocalize my appreciation.

He continued to deliberate over my chest, until a sharp nudge with my hips reminded him of his task, and my top ended its journey by being unceremoniously dumped on the floor. He then leaned back on his knees and proceeded to unfasten his pants. I laid back and watched him undress, hypnotised by the way his chest and biceps caught the light.

I stared, open-mouthed, speechless at his cold, calculated beauty. Pale and hard, icy, glittering skin, burning bright red eyes-there was no denying what he was: a vampire. The wolf side of me wanted to pounce and tear him limb from limb, but the human girl wanted to do something very different with his body. I wriggled free of the covers and stood on my knees before him.

I ran my fingers down his shimmering chest, over his solid stomach, down to his large and very sparkly penis. If I did not feel so sexually intense right now, I was sure I would find this highly amusing. Obviously my thoughts were escaping, as Demetri rolled his eyes at me, only to close them in ecstasy as my heated hand wrapped around him.

"Have you any idea how good it feels to me, with you being so warm?"

"If it's anything like how I feel about your coldness, I have a pretty good idea."

I pressed myself closer in to him, as my hand began to slowly move up and down his length. I sought his mouth with my own, and his arms made an icy trail down my back to my buttocks. His fingers tangled around the dental floss he had bought me that constituted my underwear, and slowly dragged them down over my cheeks, my thighs, around my bent knees, down my calves and past my ankles.

Burning with need, I released him and pushed down on his shoulders, positioning myself around his thighs. He leaned back and allowed me to straddle him. I paused for a second, poised on the brink of impaling myself on him, before I slid my heated wetness down at a deliberate, agonising pace. A moan escaped him once I reached the bottom of my descent, and he buried his head in my chest. I slowly lifted myself up and down his length once more.

When the slow torture became too much for him, he grabbed my hips and began to thrust back into me, encouraging me to go faster. I responded by grinding my hips against him, circling slightly.

As I felt the ball of pleasant sensations building inside me, I watched him, fascinated, as he looked at me in return. I noticed his eyes grew progressively more feral and felt his motions become rougher. I even noticed him begin to breathe heavily before, with a yell, he released inside me.

We both froze, and I tried to hold myself as far as possible away from him, remembering the accompanying reaction the first time he came. This time, however, rather than hissing and rushing away from me, he used the opportunity to run his eyes up the length of my body.

"You know," he told me, finally meeting my own gaze, "the best thing about sunny days-"

"Is that you sparkle?" I interrupted.

"No," he grinned. "The best thing about sunny days is that we have absolutely no choice but to entertain ourselves in this room until the sun goes down." He rolled us both onto our sides. "I do believe it's your turn. Lie back."


	5. Chapter 5 Diet

CHAPTER 5 - DIET

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks to nowforruin and solareclipses at Project Team Beta for a) unbelievably quick turn around, and b) for really helpful and valid comments that have really helped improve this chapter. I can't believe I used to write and put my stories out on the web without using a beta. I would never dream of it now, knowing the difference they can make.**

**And as always, thanks to TheRainGirl4 for her help-vote for Extraordinary Girl at the Shimmer Awards. While you are there, you should vote for WolvesCanEatMe and her story After The Rain. Free plug for pointing out my confusion over pack dynamics in Chapter 3 :)  
**

~X~

_Your cruel device,_

_Your blood, like ice,_

_One look could kill,_

_My pain, your thrill._

_..._

_Your mouth so hot,_

_Your web, I'm caught,_

_Your skin, so wet,_

_Black lace on sweat._

Poison, Alice Cooper

~X~

By late afternoon, I thought it was about time I got dressed; my stomach was reminding me that I hadn't eaten anything since the pizza I had brought home last night. _Home_. The thought sobered me and snapped me out of my lustful stupor. Reluctantly, Demetri allowed me out of bed long enough to escape into the bathroom.

I scorned my reflection, with her tangled hair and 'just had one hell of an afternoon in bed' expression, as I walked past the mirror and climbed into the shower. Before I'd even finished washing my hair, I heard the door open and close.

"Demetri?"

"Of course." He smiled at me as he clambered into the shower behind me. "Who else were you expecting?"

"I wasn't expecting anyone..." I paused when his cool hands ran up my back, a contrast to the warm water. "The idea was to come in here _on my own_ to get cleaned up."

"Please, can I have a shower with you? " He said it so sweetly that it was beyond me to say no.

I sighed in defeat. "I didn't realise vampires took showers,"

"Of course we do. Especially after hot she-wolves leave me covered in sweat and various other bodily fluids. It's only fair you at least give me a soap down."

"Oh really?" I looked at him with incredulity. My stomach grumbled.

"Ladies first then." He grabbed the shower gel he'd provided me with last night, and began to lather my back. It felt amazing.

"Don't think you're getting any," I warned.

"You're in a bad mood," he observed. I bit back a sudden rush of sarcasm; this guy was turning me soft. "I'm sorry, _la lupa_. You aren't hurt are you?" His hands moved down to my thighs and my buttocks, soaping me gently. "I could rub it better if you tell me where-"

"No," I scoffed. "It takes more than that to make me sore. I'm a rapid healer."

"Excellent," he breathed into my ear. His hands moved up my arms to my chest, and I felt a prod in my back; he was aroused. I was also feeling a fluttering in my loins, but I was determined that we were going to get dressed and find me something to eat.

"Forget it, leech." I turned around to stop his sensory onslaught. "I'm hungry. I need feeding."

"Hungry like the wolf?" He beamed at me and set my pulse racing. He heard it quicken. "Well, let's get clean, and we'll go find you something to eat. Maybe that is why you are so moody."

I washed the remainder of the conditioner out of my hair, and then allowed him to step into the main flow.

"I'd be eternally grateful if you would do my back for me, Leah."

I tried to counter his flamboyant request with my legendary 'bitch-face', but by then he had already turned around, and was holding the shower gel over his shoulder for me. I snatched it out of the son-of-a-bloodsucker's hand.

I ran my hands over his slick, granite frame, trying my hardest not to let my mind wander. I tried not to think of the way his muscles moved under his skin. I attempted to avoid looking at his buttocks as I soaped them, and to not imagine how he would feel pressed against me as the water ran over our bodies. I failed, badly.

"Thank you." Demetri turned around, his face lit with amusement.

I watched him wash the remainder of his body, my eyes following every movement of his hands. Once my gaze finally returned to his face, he gave me a mischievous grin. If I had been wearing panties, they would have been dropping.

I lasted two seconds before I pounced upon my willing victim, knocking Demetri against the wall with enough force to crack tiles with his granite skin. He could explain that to the front desk later - after all, it was his fault.

Damn manipulative vampires.

~X~

Later, after drying my hair and dressing myself, my smug companion packed my toiletries into a black, worn backpack and we checked out. He said nothing about the damage in the bathroom, I noted.

"I can carry my own bags, you know," I scolded. "This is the twenty-first century."

"Maybe," he retorted, "but I'm not exactly a twenty-first century boy. Allow me to carry it for you for a while; it will make up for my ungentlemanly conduct earlier."

I reluctantly allowed him to. I never got the point of the whole chauvinistic opening-doors-and-carrying-things-for-the-weaker-sex mentality. The novelty of a vampire carrying my bag amused me, though, and for now I let him.

We found a nearby pizzeria and sat in uncomfortable metal chairs while I ate.

"I need to call home and let my family know I'm ok," I stated. "I need my belongings sent to me, my bank card, and some more clothes. I will pay you back. How much do I owe you for everything?"

"Nothing," he replied flatly as he pushed his cell phone across the table towards me. He watched me bite into my pizza with interest; I started to wonder if I had pizza sauce around my mouth.

"I don't like feeling indebted to people. I want to pay my way."

"I guessed as much." He smiled. "Honestly, money is not an issue for me. I don't expect you to make any financial contribution; your company is payment enough."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he shushed me with his finger. I scowled.

"Ring your family. Tell them you'll be ok. As yet, we don't have any permanent address to send your items to, and I don't like the idea of them tracking us down."

I eyed him as I chewed.

"I was wondering how you felt about going to New York? It's been a while since I spent any significant amount of time in the city, and I'm sure it has changed greatly. It would be much more entertaining with you accompanying me."

"You want to go to New York?" I choked on a mouthful of tomato-covered dough.

"Yes. Have you ever been there?"

"Seattle is the farthest I've ever been from home," I admitted. "New York will cost a fortune! I can't allow you to pay for that."

"Please," he pouted. "Like I say, don't worry about the financial side. Henchman work pays well, and I'm long overdue a holiday. Think of it as a treat for me. You're just along for the ride."

I smiled nervously. It felt awkward to agree, but as I had no resources at all, I decided Shelton, Seattle, or anywhere, were as equally beyond my means. If he was paying, it was his choice.

"So how are we getting there?" I asked.

"I was going to ask how you felt about running there," Demetri suggested. "I believe if we ran for six hours per night, we could get there in a week. Do you think you could manage that?"

I snorted at his suggestion that it would be too much for me. I had been expecting him to suggest a more traditional method of travelling across country, but I guessed if it kept my debt to a minimum, running was an ideal way to get there.

"Sure, when do we leave?"

"After you've eaten?"

"Fine." I finished my last slice of pizza. "I will need somewhere private to change. I don't want to be bursting out of my only change of clothes." The only other outfit I had with me was the cut-offs and vest I'd packed the previous evening, which were in serious need of cleaning.

"I'll carry you to the outskirts, if you don't mind." Something in my eyes told him that I did, but it was cheaper than a taxi, and if I ran myself I risked sending Shelton into a panic over giant wolves. "We will buy you some clothes on the way. We wouldn't want you to have to walk around naked, would we?"

I cringed at the thought of him spending more money on me. "Ok, on one condition. You buy yourself some new stuff while you're at it, something that doesn't stand out so much."

"What is wrong with my choice of clothing?" He seemed a little insulted.

"With all due respect, you do dress like a vampire-a little too fancy-you need to be more incognito. You look kind of old-fashioned, too."

"Oh." He seemed surprised. "I thought I looked well-dressed. Styles change so often; I can never keep up with them. What should I be wearing?"

"I bet you would look hot in jeans and a t-shirt." I smiled at my mental picture.

"I bet you would look stunning in an evening dress." The subject of my mental image smiled back at me. "We have a deal. I will defer to your knowledge of modern fashion and dress down, if you allow me to choose one or two things for you." Mischief glinted in his eyes.

"Deal," I agreed. "Oh, and thanks for the clothes and the toiletries last night. You got my size and my style almost exactly."

"You're welcome." Demetri shifted awkwardly and looked away. I became suspicious.

"Where did you get them from?" I asked, cautiously. When he didn't answer immediately, I repeated the question.

"I don't think you want to know the answer to that question, Leah."

He finally met my gaze, and everything clicked into place. Didn't vampire eyes change colour depending on how hungry they were? Last night when he found me, they had been black, but this morning I'd marvelled at how bright red they'd become.

I felt suddenly nauseated as the implications of his diet hit me square in the face. How could I have been so naive? I should know better than most, given that the whole reason I was cursed with being a werewolf was to protect my tribe from _his_ kind.

"I'm wearing a dead girl's clothes?" I almost yelled, before I realised we were in public. I lowered my voice. "Tell me I'm not!"

"She wasn't wearing them; I got them out of her wardrobe," he explained, as if he was giving me some kind of rational justification. My stomach churned.

"You murdered someone last night," I whispered angrily, "and I'm wearing her clothes. Do you know how sick that is? What kind of monster are you?"

Demetri momentarily lost his cool and hissed at me. "What kind of monster am I? You already know the answer to that, Leah. I'm a vampire. I'm just doing what comes naturally."

I scowled. "I know you're a vampire, but I don't want some girl's blood on my hands. Can't you just hang around hospitals and perform euthanasia or something?"

Demetri's calm facade returned, and he spoke quietly and softly. "I was in a rush, and you were waiting for me to come collect you. I'd smelled your blood, so I wasn't exactly feeling rational or patient. I saw her; she was your size, and you needed clean clothes. I was trying to be helpful."

"Helpful!" I yelled, attracting the attention of a couple of boys sitting a few tables up, so I lowered my voice. "You thought killing a girl and giving me her clothes was helpful! Somehow I doubt _she_ thought you were being particularly considerate!"

"Vampires have to eat, too, and you needed clothing. I'm sorry you didn't like my methods, but there's no point crying over spilt blood. A pig died for the pepperoni on your pizza, and I'd be surprised if you'd never worn leather before. You don't hear me shouting about animal rights."

"That's not the same!" I replied angrily. "I didn't kill the pig."

Demetri looked at me intently, with annoyance in his eyes, but his voice was low, calm and even. "You are a hypocrite. You can eat an animal, so long as you don't kill it yourself. You can wear animal skin, but refuse to make use of clothes where the owner no longer has need of them. It's not as if you haven't killed before, or do wolves not recognise vampires as sentient beings? Am I a piece of meat to you?"

Tremors of rage started to run throughout my body. I got out of my seat, ran out of the restaurant and around the side of the building, where I promptly threw up. The clothes and his rational justification of where they had come from had made me sick to my stomach. I wanted to tear them from my body and burn them, but then I worried whether my old blood-soiled vest would make Demetri hungry again. I did not want another death on my conscience.

Eventually Demetri joined me, standing at a safe distance. "I can't help what I am, Leah. You know what that is-and the implications. I don't live on animal blood like the Cullens."

"I'm not sure if I can be with someone who murders humans. You make me sick."

He moved in a little closer. "Does this mean you don't want to come with me to New York?" He suddenly seemed very cold and threatening. For the first time, I saw why the Volturi were so feared by other vampires.

I took a moment to weigh my options. I'd spent the last twenty hours with Demetri. Most of that time had been spent having sex, but the thought of him killing someone turned me off in a big way. I was a werewolf; it was my job to prevent vampires murdering people, not be the reason for it.

What were my options? Go back to La Push? The thought of facing the pack again filled me with fear. I could not go home in shame, not just yet. I could wander the wilderness as a wolf for a while, I supposed. Maybe eventually I could go back with my tail between my legs, and as much as that idea wounded my pride, it seemed to be the only viable option. But a feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me it was wrong.

I didn't want to leave Demetri, and even the thought of going our separate ways pained me. He hadn't seemed to be a monster before now, but the clothes I was wearing were a testament to how off my perception was. Why was I even considering staying? I should rip him apart where he stood, or at the very least run away and never look back, but my feet were rooted to the spot. I was pathetic.

"Can't you at least try to change your diet? Try a deer or two on the way?"

"No," he said sharply. "I've drunk human blood for almost two thousand years. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. You're asking too much of me."

"I can't live with you taking random people off the street, or in their own goddamn homes. Can't you visit hospitals and make a withdrawal from the blood bank? Terminal patients?"

He stood there motionless for a while; I tried to decipher what he was thinking, but he gave me no clue.

"I can try your dying hospital patient suggestion. This is a big thing for me, Leah. I've never tried to hold myself back when I'm thirsty, but I will promise to at least try, if you will stay."

My conscience warred with itself while I turned the situation over in my mind.

"I'll come with you," I said, once I could form the words. "But the first time you slip, I'm gone, and I won't hesitate for a second."

He nodded his understanding and motioned for me to climb onto his back, so we could go somewhere a wolf running wild wouldn't panic the population. I felt uncomfortable touching him for the first time. I'd had a rude awakening; my Demetri was a man-eating devil, not the sex god I'd deluded myself over.

Shit. I was running away with a vampire, and this one wasn't the watered down, vegetarian, altruistic type; he was the real deal. This probably wasn't a good idea.


	6. Chapter 6 Pull

CHAPTER 6 - PULL

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks to solareclipses and Pamela0201 for betaing this for me. I do really appreciate your comments, and try to learn from them.**

**Thank you to Delicious Dreamer (Hanna) for making me a new banner, which you can see on my profile page. I'm really honoured that you would take time to do this.**

~X~**  
**

_You trick your lovers,_

_That you're wicked and divine,_

_You may be a sinner,_

_But your innocence is mine,_

_Tease me; show me how it's done,_

_Trust me, you are the one._

Undisclosed Desires, Muse

~X~

Demetri offered me his cell phone again, and I nervously dialled the familiar sequence of numbers that would allow me to speak to my mother or my brother. After a while, Seth picked up.

"Hey," he began, sounding less perky than usual. I fought the urge to lecture him about answering the phone that way, as I had so many times before. The truth was I found it reassuring.

"Seth, it's me."

"Leah! Where are you? Are you all right? What happened? Are you with _him_? Mom's so worried!"

"Whoa, Seth." I tried to keep the emotion out of my voice and sound relaxed. "I'm all right. I've just decided to spend a bit of time away from La Push. Did you hear what happened last night? Why I disconnected?"

"Yeah, I think I heard—and saw—a little more than I wanted to. I've had to kick Collin and Brady's ass more than once for thinking about it while I'm around. So the new boyfriend is a vampire, huh? Must admit I never saw that one coming."

"He's not my boyfriend," I said bluntly. As usual my brother was ridiculously accepting and easy-going about a situation that would have others, including myself, flipping out.

"Erm—well-it kinda looked that way," Seth replied. "I'm still scrubbing the image out of my brain."

"Whatever. So what did the pack say? Other than getting off on the fact that I finally have a sex life."

"From what I've heard from everyone who was there, Sam was wondering if you have actually imprinted. When he said you couldn't see the vampire you seemed to struggle, and then you were out. They tried to talk to you, but you ran off. He's pretty cut up that you dropped out of the pack; he blames himself and feels like crap."

I paused for a second. Sam still had the power to get to me and bring out my worst. I resisted the urge to lash out and give my brother an earache over something that wasn't his fault.

"No, I haven't imprinted, and he _should_ feel bad. It will teach him to make people show things they don't want others to see, and say who they can and can't spend time with. At least now I know it was me who left, and I didn't get kicked out. That makes me feel a little better."

"So what was with that? Are you coming home soon?" Seth's voice pleaded, and I got the feeling he missed me badly.

"I don't know what happened. He said I couldn't see Demetri anymore, and I couldn't follow the order. Next thing I knew I was out of the pack mind. I know as much as they do. I'm not sure when I'm coming home, certainly not until the whole thing is a distant memory, and I don't have to put up with puppies humping my leg."

"Come back, Leah," Seth whined. "No-one will say anything. Mom misses you, I miss you, and Sam misses you, too." I snorted in disgust. "Come home."

"I miss you too, Seth." I fought a lump in the back of my throat. "Tell Mom I love her, and I'll ring tomorrow, but I'm not coming home yet. They might not say anything, but they'll think it. I'm gonna travel for a bit, you know, and do some stuff I've never done before—live a little."

"You're not going to Italy are you?" Seth sounded concerned. "Because I think that's a really _bad_ idea. I mean, you know this vampire better than I do, but the Cullens don't think his interest in you is what it seems-"

"I'm not going to Italy," I reassured him. "I was thinking continental U.S."

"Ok, just be careful, sis, and I don't mean to judge but...a vampire? You know I don't mind them, but I never figured you for the type."

"Yeah, neither did I." I chuckled without humor.

"So you like him, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"Enough to leave the pack?"

"I suppose so".

"And does he like you?"

"I guess so." I was certainly getting the little brother inquisition tonight. I realised he was asking the questions that my father would have if he was still around. I winced.

"Do you trust him? He's the tracker, right? The Cullens are worried; they say he's been with the Volturi for a long time. Edward says that he never got any hint that he was any less than one hundred percent loyal, and Alice can't see anything because she can't see wolves. If you come back, then maybe Edward could—"

"Is it so unthinkable that he might actually like me? That someone might actually want to be with me?"

"Leah," Seth groaned. "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't want to see you hurt, and we're worried in case he's using you."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've been used, Seth." My voice dripped with bitterness. "The only difference is this time it's a vampire, not a wolf. At least I don't have to worry about him imprinting and jilting me in a heartbeat."

"Sorry. Just be safe, okay."

"Okay, Seth, you too. Look after Mom, and I'll ring again tomorrow."

We both paused, neither one of us wanting to put the phone down first. I missed home; I missed my brother and my Mom, but I did not miss the wolf pack drama. Eventually I ended the call and stood looking at the phone in my hand.

Demetri appeared tentatively. "Have you finished your call? Was everyone all right?" He smiled, and I managed a shaky smile in return. He seemed so different from our moment in the pizzeria earlier—almost human—but the atmosphere was still a little tense.

"Yeah, everyone's fine. I said I'll ring again tomorrow if you don't mind me using your phone?"

"No problem. You miss home."

"I miss some things, not everything."

He laughed. "Believe it or not, I can sympathise with that. Come on, get naked, and we'll go." His joviality unnerved me. A few hours ago this conversation would have felt very different, but now I felt like I'd had a veil lifted from my eyes.

"Okay then. Turn around."

"Do I have to?" He pouted in my direction. "I like seeing you naked."

"I'm aware of that. It's just that I have—issues—to get my head around before you get your hands on my body again." I stared at him to judge his reaction; he looked disappointed and regretful. "You freaked me out today. I need time to adjust."

"If it helps, I'm sorry for the clothes situation. That won't happen again." He looked genuine as he stared me straight in the eye.

"You're right; it won't. I'd prefer it if you were sorry for the murder part, too."

This time he shifted awkwardly and no apology was forthcoming, but his eyes were open and honest, and his voice calm. "I'm a bloodthirsty vampire who has no moral compunctions about feeding off humans. Trying to pretend to be anything else wouldn't be fair to either of us. I will say I'm sorry you found out and that you were upset. I promise you I'll try to find a compromise we can both live with."

"Then I guess I'll have to be happy with that, but I still need time." I was less than happy, but I guessed the solution we'd agreed to earlier was better than cold-blooded murder

"Take all the time you need." He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "But I have great faith in my irresistible charms. _Come potete resistermi_?"

"I'm starting to pick up on your tactic now, Demetri. I can resist you."

He smiled widely and winked. "_Chi non risica, non rosica_".

I could not help but smile back at his obvious attempts to woo me with exotic languages. He was right; when he was being this human, how could I resist him? "Turn around, and save your Italian tongue for when I'm ready to let you get some benefit out of it."

"Oh, I love it when you talk dirty." He was now looking the opposite way but I could sense his smirk.

"That's not what I meant." By then I was naked, and a few moments later I couldn't say anything else. I cursed the fact that I hadn't asked for directions before I phased, but to change back now would give him a blatant eyeful.

"How quick you change shape is rather amazing. One second I'm talking to a gorgeous girl; next I have a wolf as tall as I am standing next to me."

I sniffed.

"I have a strange request. Do you mind if I touch your fur? Don't worry, it's not a ploy to get my hands on you or a bestiality moment. I'm just curious."

I rolled my eyes and nudged his hand with my muzzle to show he was fine. He tentatively moved his hand over the top of my head and behind one of my ears. I instinctively cocked my head and grimaced when he hit 'the spot', causing him to chuckle. A vampire petting a wolf—another giant leap for cross-species relations, as if we'd not already stretched those boundaries earlier in the motel.

"Come on, _la lupa_. Let us see if you can keep up with a vampire." Suddenly he fired away into the night like a bullet from a gun, and I ran after him.

He moved so fast that he appeared to be a blur to the human eye, but he wasn't too quick for me. My paws rhythmically pounded the earth, and I soon caught him. As I was running alongside, he increased his speed, and I adjusted to suit.

"You're fast," he yelled as he ran, "but I'm tricky." Suddenly he shifted direction, and my legs tangled amongst themselves as I skidded and followed. I caught him, and again he changed direction. I became irritated, and my pride encouraged me to showboat.

I put everything I could into the motion of my legs as we weaved through the trees. This time, instead of falling into position by his side I accelerated past him. I was determined to prove that, despite his manoeuvrability, I still won on all out speed.

I powered on for quite some time, before it dawned on me that I had absolutely no idea where I was going and I ground to a halt. I stood panting for about thirty seconds until my vampire companion caught me.

"You are faster than I expected."

I snorted.

"But I will always find you once you stop. What is the matter?"

For a second, I missed the convenience of shared thoughts as I found myself unable to ask which direction we were headed in. I tried to motion with my head that he should turn around, but Demetri only shrugged at my attempt at wolf charades.

I changed back in frustration. As soon as I was able to speak I asked him to look away.

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically. The covert second glance he gave my naked form told me that he was less apologetic than he made out.

"Where are we headed?" I asked breathlessly. His presence and the cool night air on my skin were doing strange things to my composure.

"I was thinking we should be able to make it to Yellowstone before dawn, and hopefully we can find an empty cabin nearby. East-north-east from here." He pointed the direction out to me.

"Okay then, let's go." As soon as the final syllable passed my lips, I became an animal again. I bounded away, this time at a pace more suited for endurance.

Eventually, the sky lightened, and birds announced the imminent arrival of morning. By now my muscles ached from constant use, and I was ready to find a bed. Demetri seemed to know instinctively where he was headed, so I followed his lead. We came across a large, private log cabin.

I couldn't smell or hear any signs of inhabitation, but I held back while Demetri made quick work of the lock on the door. As he headed inside, I made use of the privacy to change back to human and get dressed before joining him. The cabin smelled musty and disused, but I still felt apprehensive that we might get caught.

"It has been empty for months, and there is no-one around for miles." Demetri reassured me, tapping his temple to emphasize his hidden talent. For a second I wondered how his mind worked.

"And there's a hot tub," he added with a wink. I guessed I had my answer—his mind worked just like any other man's.

I glared. "Is there a bed?"

"Of course."

"Great, you go enjoy the hot tub. I need to sleep."

His face dropped, and he pouted. "It would be more fun with you. We'll try it later."

He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around my weary shoulders. "You get some sleep." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I'll get organised, you know; ring ahead and book some hotel rooms, so we don't have to keep breaking and entering; get some food, and plan tomorrow's route. Sleep is so inconvenient."

I grunted and looked into his mischievous red eyes before my gaze quickly dropped to his mouth. Electricity crackled between us as the gravitational pull of our lips drew us together. The kiss was tender and unhurried, but my heart raced like a freight train. I pulled away, despite the conflicting instinct which told me to get closer.

"Good night, Demetri," I rasped.

"_Buona notte, dormi bene."_ My stomach did its usual flip at the sound of the foreign language, but I didn't linger.

I headed off to the dusty bedroom and searched in the cupboard for clean bedding. Once my bed was made, I tried to make my aching body comfortable, but sleep did not come immediately. I shut my eyes to try and keep out the memory of his mouth on mine; it seemed to have the opposite effect.

Once I did drift off into unconsciousness, strange dreams descended. Again I was running through the dark forest, but tonight I was following my vampire lover. Every time I almost caught him, he would turn at right angles away from me, and an irresistible force, like a black hole, would drag me after him. I didn't want to keep running, but I was powerless to stop.

"But it's not an imprint," I kept telling myself. "I don't understand."

No-one answered me, and so I kept going.

~X~

TRANSLATIONS:

_Come potete resistermi_ – How can you resist me?

_Chi non risica, non rosica – _Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

_Buona notte, dormi bene –_ Good night, sleep well.


	7. Chapter 7 Learning

CHAPTER 7 - LEARNING

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Lemons, and a teensy-weensy squeeze of angst for flavour.**

**Thanks to darkgoddess09 and Nowforruin at PTB – I'm a lucky girl to have such awesome betas looking over this story.**

~X~

_When your lips are burning mine,  
And you take the time to tell me how you feel.  
When you listen to my words,  
And I know you've heard, I know it's real.  
_Rain, Madonna

~X~

I felt myself twitch and I sat up suddenly; I was disorientated to find myself in a strange yet rather homely room. My heart pounded as I adjusted to my surroundings. I sensed a presence. My eyes flickered to the pillow next to mine and found a familiar face.

Though his usual artfully messed fair hair, face creased with humour, and smiling red eyes were in place, Demetri looked different. Instead of his usual dark Volturi uniform, he wore a light t-shirt and jeans.

_I must have died in my sleep, because this morning my devil now looked like an angel_. The sight made me breathless, and I mentally kicked myself for going all soft and girly over him.

"Hello." His voice rolled over me in warm waves and I melted. I decided that the occasional love-sick schoolgirl moment wasn't _that_ unforgiveable.

Without thinking, I leaned in towards him and gently pressed my lips to his. Then I remembered that I was mad with him after the argument in the pizzeria, and I pulled away quickly.

"I like how you say 'hello'. I'd be very interested to find out how you say 'Good morning. How are you this fine day?'" He put his arm on my stomach, and rested his head on his other hand while he observed me.

"Always about the sex." _Were all vampires so perpetually horny? Or just the men?_

"Not always. I'm one-third hormonal male and one-third evil, blood-drinking vampire warrior. The rest of me is actually quite deep and intellectual; you just need to get past the other parts first." He continued to smile at me, but the saying 'many a true word spoken in jest' ran through my head. _Thanks, grandma, for those words of wisdom._

"Really? But which part is in charge?"

"Right now? Hormonal male, of course."

I tried to distract myself by stretching. It didn't work as the movement of my body caught his eye, and the resulting chemistry between us set off all kind of reactions throughout my body.

"Hey, what's with the clothes?" I asked.

"The clothes? Would you prefer me naked?"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"While you've been snoring away, I've been a busy little bee. I've prepared you some food, bought some clothes, prepared a route and booked some hotels along the way. I thought I'd have a lie down after all that, in the hope that you'd wake up and ravish me as a reward for all my hard work."

"Is that right?" I gave him the Leah Clearwater 'look' to remind him that he still wasn't getting any. My poorly repressed smile betrayed me. "I told you that you would look hot in a t-shirt and jeans."

"Well, I aim to please." He smirked at me. "At this point you're supposed to tell me I would look good in a bin bag."

"What's a bin bag?" I decided to change the subject from how nice he looked in his new attire to something that had been bugging me since we first met. "Here's a question for you. English or Italian, which is your first language?"

"Actually, neither," he answered. "My first tongue is Latin, but it hasn't really been a language for day-to-day conversation during the past few centuries. Living in Italy, being able to speak Italian is pretty handy, and most of the Volturi speak English, so I use it through habit."

"But you sound so British!" I exclaimed.

"I learned to speak English from a Brit. Carlisle Cullen, in fact."

"Really?" I was shocked. "He was in the Volturi?"

"Quite some time ago, but yes. Don't look so shocked. We're not all bad you know, and someone has to play the bad-ass cop. Can you imagine what the world would be like if vampires could do whatever they wanted? Without fear of any rules being enforced?"

I took a moment to think about it, and decided that maybe the Volturi wasn't such a bad organization. After all, before the pack got on first name terms with the Cullens we didn't entertain the idea that any vampire could be civilized and honest.

"Do you like being in the Volturi?" I asked.

"Yes, I do. It's like being accepted into Mensa, except you have to rip the arms off naughty vampires now and again."

I chuckled before I realised that he had just joked about destroying his own kind. My laughter collapsed and I frowned.

"How about you? You've said before that you didn't want to be a wolf. Why don't you like being what you are?"

I took a moment to decide how much I was going to say. "I think a lot of it has to do with the things that happened before and after I changed. A lot of bad stuff happened to me personally, all of which came about due to wolf genes. I didn't have any choice in the matter, and if I had, I would have said no. I don't want to be a freak of nature."

For a second we both went silent, until Demetri jumped off the bed and changed the subject.

"As my fashionable new attire hasn't worked, I am going to attempt to dazzle you with my culinary skills. Now, it has been a millennia or two since I last had to think about feeding a human, so do give me a little leeway. Please get dressed. I've left you some clothes on the dresser there, and I'll be looking dashing while I wait in the kitchen for you."

I shook my head at his colourful way of saying 'get dressed, and I'll see you downstairs for breakfast', but it made me smile—until I looked through the pile of clothing and new toiletries. I had no idea where he had been to buy them, but he certainly hadn't had practicality in mind when he'd chosen underwear, and the summer dresses _definitely_ weren't my style. Luckily, he had also bought me a khaki vest and a pair of denim shorts.

I went into the bathroom, and soaked my old vest and cut-offs that were still caked in my own blood. I had to have at least one change of clothing. I intended to give the clothes Demetri had provided me with in Shelton to some kind of charity as soon as we reached a town or city. I wanted to burn them or at the very least shred them, but that seemed to be too much of a waste.

I imagined a girl of the same build as I. A bubble of rage built up in me before I swallowed it back down. I'd burn in hell before I wore them again, but I wasn't going to defile her memory by destroying her clothes. It wasn't much, but I felt that her senseless death was less my fault if I passed them on.

I took my anger out on my dirty cut offs, and they had as good a scrub as the fabric could handle. After thoroughly washing my hands to remove the smell of bloody water, I joined Demetri.

"I hope you kept receipts for the summer dresses. I'm sorry, but they _really_ aren't my thing. And I think you forgot to get me some underwear."

He smiled at me, and I was glad that he didn't take my rejection of the clothes as ingratitude. "You said I could pick out a few things for you to wear in return for my image overhaul. I'll get you to model them for me later. The dresses too."

I rolled my eyes at him; with the constant innuendo, they were getting a good work out today.

"But we can't do that on an empty stomach, because I've noticed being hungry makes you bad-tempered." He zoomed away and momentarily reappeared with a plate. "So, _la lupa_, dinner is served."

Salami, cheese, eggs, a variety of vegetables, and bread, lots of bread. It looked very European, not something I would have chosen to make for myself, but I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised. I ate hungrily.

"So do I get brownie points for my ability to provide food for humans?" he asked as he sat down across the table from me. I gave him a thumbs-up as my mouth was full.

Once I'd finished eating, he whisked the plates away before I had a chance to protest. I felt like royalty being waited on hand-and-foot— I could get used to it. He came back with a drink, and I sat back in my chair, contented.

"So, now that I've had your idea of human food, are you going to tell me about what you were like when you were human?"

He smiled at me. "Of course. I'll tell you all I remember about Lucius Demetrius, so long we can set up something in exchange."

My face dropped. He wanted information from me. Sam's words echoed through my brain. _He's using you to find about the pack._

I got up from my seat and stormed towards the door.

"Leah? What's wrong?" I didn't answer. Lightning-quick, he got up from the table and blocked the entrance to the cabin. "Leah, what did I say?"

"What kind of goddamn idiot do you take me for? You could at least try to be subtle. Now let me pass by." By now, I was shaking with anger. In fact, I was probably registering on the Richter scale.

"Subtle? I was trying to be humorous."

"Goddamn humorous! 'Oh I'll tell you about my human life, so long as you spill all your secrets about being a wolf'. Or did you think so long as you batted your eyelashes when you said it, I'd give you all the information you wanted?"

"You've taken what I said the wrong way. That's not what I meant at all."

"I'M NOT A MORON. DON'T SPEAK TO ME AS IF—" I yelled at him, until my spontaneous phase cut me off.

Fragments of clothing flew into the air, and my rapidly expanding body knocked Demetri and the surrounding furniture flying in all directions. The only way I was getting out now was by causing some major damage to the doorway.

Demetri held his hands up and looked me in my wolf eyes. He spoke slowly and clearly. "You misunderstood what I was saying. I was not trying to extract information from you. I'm one-third hormonal male, remember? The exchange I had in mind was my life story in return for you and me in a hot tub."

I gazed back into his eyes. He had been heavy on the sexual innuendo and attempts to coerce me into sex all day. He could have continued the conversation about me not wanting to be a wolf in bed earlier if he'd wanted to pump me for information. I believed him, and now I felt a little stupid. I remained in wolf form so he couldn't judge my expression and managed a low whine in response.

"Leah, please change back and talk to me."

I hesitated, mainly because of my embarrassment at my over-reaction. While I wasn't in human form and couldn't speak, I could hide most of my emotions from him. Apologies were painful and I didn't want to back down, but I was Leah Clearwater, not a coward. It wasn't the first time I'd ever fired off and lived to regret being so hasty.

I changed back. "I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions." The word 'sorry' choked in my throat, and I avoided his eyes. I hated being in the wrong.

"That's no problem. It's forgotten and you're forgiven." He moved towards me. "Yell at me and accuse me of anything you want if it results in you bursting out of your clothes. I must admit, you're beautiful when you're angry. Although, I prefer you angry, naked and human—rather than furry and snarling."

He grabbed my face and crushed my lips against his own. My highly flammable libido exploded, and I responded with all the force I could muster.

His hands grabbed my ass cheeks and ground my hips into his. He was already hard, and it was all I could manage not to climb on him then and there. Instead, I tugged at his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. He felt cold, but he was as hot for this as I was. And hell, I was _hot_ for him.

He took care of removing his jeans, while I concentrated on his now exposed body— it was easier than looking into his eyes. Goddamn, he was beautifully formed. Avoiding seeing anything higher than his lips, I could convince myself that he was nothing more sinister than a human boy. A boy who wanted me as much as I wanted him.

Once we were both naked, we tumbled to the floor in a mess of limbs and body parts. I ended up with my back to the cold, tiled floor, and he positioned himself between my thighs. I tangled my legs around his, and lifted my hips as a signal to proceed. He did not wait more than two seconds before he thrust into me.

We both groaned as he entered me forcefully. Fire and ice—I'd forgotten how much I adored the sensation until I was reminded in exquisite style.

The sensation shattered any lingering misgivings about whether sex with a murdering vampire was right, and I became an animal in human form. Animals didn't have a conscience; they worked on instinct, and they didn't have to talk about a lack of trust. Plus, sex was just as good as, if not better than, any poetically-worded apology.

I wound my arms around his shoulders and buried my face in the curve of his neck, intoxicating myself with his strong vampire perfume. I opened my mouth, scraping my teeth over the unbreakable surface, and re-accustomed myself to the taste of his skin that had become so familiar to me twenty-four hours ago.

Matching his pace violently, I caused him to groan my name. I smiled, as if I'd won some small victory. He was relentless as he continued to plunge into me time and time again, until at long last I gasped what was almost his name as I came. "Metri!" His full name wasn't the easiest thing to say in the throes of passion.

I ventured a look at his face. His eyes were still lit with lust as he smiled down at my limp, post-orgasmic form.

"We're staying here tonight. I hope you don't mind. I'm not going anywhere until I've christened that hot tub."

**A/N: For the next couple of chapters, I've been all over Google for information on Demetri's back story, and I'm sure I'll be unable to credit everything I've read to help form the story. Inspiration for Demetri's idea of what humans eat came from . **


	8. Chapter 8 A History

CHAPTER 8 – A HISTORY

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Nothing better than finding out one of your betas is really familiar with the time period you're trying to write! I'm a lucky girl to have two amazing betas on permanent assignment for Red Eyes! Thank you Nowforruin and solareclipses **

**Oh and sorry for skimming over the lemon; I just wanted to get to the meat of the chapter! To make up for it, please see my profile page and you'll see a link to a picture of Charlie Bewley in Cosmopolitan that inspired the hot tub scene. I'm sure you'll forgive me ;)**

~X~**  
**

_You only see what your eyes want to see,_

_How can life be what you want it to be,_

_You're frozen when your heart's not open._

_You're so consumed with how much you get,_

_You waste your time with hate and regret,_

_You're broken when your heart's not open._

Frozen, Madonna

~X~

_Damn_, I thought to myself once I walked back into the bedroom, wrapped in just a towel. Now that my shorts and vest were thoroughly destroyed, my only choices were my ill-gotten outfit from Shelton or a summer dress. After much deliberation, I opted for the dress. I didn't feel right in it, and I certainly didn't look like me, but it was better than being naked—for now.

I took a moment to recall the emotionally-charged quickie on the kitchen floor only half an hour ago. I smiled as my stomach flipped. _Why was I holding out on the sex front again?_ I really couldn't remember. There was something about his grin and his body that had a habit of making me forget myself. I wasn't complaining.

As we'd decided to stay here another night, I joined Demetri outside, removed my goddamn dress and put it in my Velcro pouch. We quickly explored Yellowstone National Park in the dying light. I galloped along beside my vampire lover, while he talked to me about places he'd been during his time on earth.

It seemed there was a whole world out there that I'd never seen: cities, deserts, mountains, tropical beaches and jungle. The possibilities were endless, and his tales fired up my imagination with the hope that he might show me someday.

When we came back to the cabin, Demetri insisted on feeding me, but I told him I was more than capable of making myself a sandwich out of the leftovers from earlier. He seemed a little put out, but soon cheered up when I suggested he get the hot tub going.

He had promised me his 'life' story in return for a session in the hot tub. It was a hard job, but in the interest of finding out about Demetri as a human, I'd do it. _Ah, who am I kidding?_ I smirked to myself.

I was the happiest I'd been in a long time, not since—

I stopped myself; some people just didn't deserve my time or mental energy.

I went downstairs in a towel and found Demetri had already made himself comfortable in the water. As I approached, he stood up to help me in. His old-fashioned manners made me shake my head, until my attention was drawn elsewhere.

Although I'd seen plenty of him naked by now, the sight of him at that moment stopped me in my tracks. His hair was wet and messy, water glistened on his toned shoulders, and shadows defined the muscles under his pale skin. Following the shadows down his body, my eyes went lower and lower...I was well and truly lost on the happy trail.

_Holy goddamn son-of-a-bloodsucker—he's hot._

He cleared his throat, and I saw he was holding his hand out to me. "Please, will you climb in? You standing there, wearing nothing but a towel and staring at me, is doing nothing for my patience."

I cringed in embarrassment at being caught looking. It wasn't as if he needed the ego boost.

Once I was in the water, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. Due to the heat of the water, he was warm enough to almost pass for human—with the exception of his eyes, which were now an unnerving shade of deep burgundy. We paused for a second and enjoyed the anticipation before I brought my mouth to his and gave him his wish.

It wasn't the most practical of places to have sex, and even with vampire and wolf dexterity, it was awkward. I noticed Demetri was a little rougher with me than usual—and impatient. So I did what any self-respecting she-wolf would do—I made him wait.

Only when my own hunger for his body reached breaking point did I finally allow him to plunge into me. He did so a little too eagerly; we lost our footing and ungracefully sank beneath the surface. Despite the unwelcome mouthful of water, I was glad as the change in mood slowed him down, and he once more became the slow, considerate, talented lover I was familiar with.

He reminded me of the fact that vampires didn't have to breathe. _Goddamn Italian-tongued vampires_. There was something to be said for underwater oral, and I made damn sure the night air heard my opinions on the matter.

Demetri seemed to find my incoherent strings of curses and praises amusing, and once I was undone he gladly pulled me on top of him and found his own release. As he came, he had a strange expression in his eyes, and I realised he must be getting thirsty again. With that in mind, I kept myself as far as I could from his mouth and his teeth, but there was no feral hiss.

The hot tub could consider itself well and truly christened.

"Right, now that _that's_ out of the way, you owe me one story of what you were like as a human."

He raised his eyebrows at my dismissive comment. "Are you sure you want to hear?"

"Dead sure," I replied. He was no longer just a vampire to me. I wanted to know more about him and what made him tick. I now knew there was a personality behind the ancient killer; I wanted to delve deeper, and understand why Demetri was what he had become.

"Please bear in mind that I wasn't the most morally upstanding character, but I was very typical of my time."

"Fine. Now are you going to tell this story or not?"

"Patience is a virtue, _la lupa_. Are we sitting comfortably?"

"As comfortable as I could ever be. Now spill."

He took a second before he began. "I was born in 57AD-"

"The fact you need to say AD kind of says something."

He continued. "I was named for my father, Lucius Demetrius Flavius."

"I can see why you shortened it."

"Indeed. A lot of the Volturi have modified our names over the years, and we don't bother with surnames."

I motioned that he should continue.

"My father was in the military, a respected man, and trusted by Nero for his courage and honesty. He always wanted to me to follow in his footsteps, like all boys of that time I was taught to fight, and I learnt from the best of teachers. While I was still young, he was killed when honesty fell out of favour with the emperor. I'll spare you the details of how he died."

I watched his face for signs of emotion, but he continued with an impassive voice, as if he was reading from a book.

"My father's brother, Marcus Demetrius Flavius, owned vineyards on the outskirts of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. You might have heard of it." I nodded to show that I had.

"He was a wealthy man, but he had no son. When I was five, he married my mother, and my sisters and I went to live with them. I was glad; I had no inclination to become the man of the house so young. I remember my first impression of Pompeii was the number of prostitutes, and the way the ground shook."

"He did not want me to enlist, and so he encouraged me to learn his business. He was quite a demanding man, very self-serving, but he was rich, and with him I could enjoy the good life. Despite my father's hopes for my future career, I was lazy and the idea of inheriting a thriving vineyard seemed a much better prospect than fighting in foreign lands.

"He arranged a marriage with a politician's daughter; I'd have rather he chose me someone a little more aesthetically pleasing. As you are already aware, I am very easy on the eye, and he used the marriage to further his business interests. It wasn't my place to argue, after all, he was my father for all intents and purposes. I did not get along with my wife, but we had a son—"

"You had a wife and son? What were their names?" I asked.

"Pompeia was my wife's name, and my son was named after me, Lucius Demetrius. Because I hated his mother, I kept myself entertained elsewhere as often as I could. In Pompeii there were _plenty_ of places to keep me occupied." The meaningful look he gave left me no doubt that his entertainment was far from innocent.

He saw the look on my face as I disapproved of his callous disregard of his wife and family.

"Things didn't work the way they do now, Leah. When in Rome..."

"So basically, you were a cheating, lazy, rich asshole. Nice."

He continued, despite my prickly attitude. "My uncle had sent me away on business. He'd recognised my way with words and realised I would be useful in sweet-talking his customers. He said I should have been a politician myself.

"I'd stayed at a merchant's house in Misenum overnight, and I should have left for home in the morning. Instead, I met up with his wife—she was young, pretty and as unhappily married as I was. And of course I have a very persuasive tongue." He winked at me.

"Really, I'd not noticed. You're not exactly painting a good picture of your human self here."

"I never said I was trying to, but it's the truth. I was your average, spoiled, self-indulgent, rich boy; I wasn't doing anything that the next person wouldn't do. As it was, if I had returned home when I should have, I would have been dead by the end of the day. Vesuvius erupted, and I lost everything; my family, my wife and baby son, as well as my home, livelihood, and anything I owned of any value."

"You were at Pompeii when the volcano erupted?" I exclaimed. "How old were you?"

"Twenty-two. I wasn't_ in_ Pompeii, but I was a little closer than you would want to be. Now _that_ was a sight to be seen."

He went quiet for a moment, and I felt the need to break the silence. "So what did you do? When did you get turned?" I asked.

"I didn't get turned immediately after the eruption. I was penniless and on my own; I wasn't one for hard work, and I had to accept that the good life was gone. I'd always relied on my father or my uncle to give me any direction on my life, and all of a sudden it was just me. Rather than be a beggar on the street, or join the army, I decided to sell myself into slavery."

"You sold yourself into slavery? Why would you do that?" I looked at him in disbelief.

"I was young and arrogant; I had been taught to fight, and I figured that gladiators only fought a few times a year. The talented or the more flamboyant became famous, and it was no secret that they got their share of rich men's wives. I suppose you could say they were the sportsmen of the time. Selling yourself into slavery was shameful, but people did it. I wasn't the only boy from the Bay of Naples who had lost everything and decided to give it a try."

"I might be stating the obvious, but wasn't that pretty much suicide?"

"For some, yes. Obviously it was an occupation with a high risk factor, but the rule was that you would generally hold back the killing blow if you could, and wait for the thumbs up or down. Slaves were expensive, so they were spared most of the time and lived to fight another day."

"Oh right. Was it like 'Gladiator' the film?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never seen it. Mostly we fought in pairs. I was a _hoplomachus_; I think it was a dig at my Greek name."

He noticed my blank look.

"It's a type of gladiator, based on the armour and weapons a particular Greek tribe used. That's how I met Titus Volumnius Felix; he was a _myrmillo_ and the other type of fighter I was paired with. You may remember him as the large vampire on our side of the field."

"You fought the big guy? While you were both human?"

"Yes, we fought a few times. He was much more intimidating back then, when I couldn't be put back together."

"Wow. Important question—what did you wear?" My eyes twinkled. I was sure he would have been a sight to behold.

"We wore loin cloths mainly, and leather armour."

"Nice." I smirked at him, and then quietened down. I was getting mental images of Demetri in gladiator garb, and I was keen for him to continue.

"It was a lot better than begging. I fought a grand total of eight times, and I won all but twice. I was well looked after, and being prettier than the average gladiator, I got more than my share of lady visitors. It was worth the disgrace.

"During those three years, I grew up and learnt more about myself than the rest of my human life put together. Not the easiest years of my life, but I was a much better person for them. I learned about loyalty, friendship, and discipline."

"Wow. I'm sharing a hot tub in the twenty-first century with a real-life gladiator." I moved closer to him. "So how did you get turned?"

"One night Eleazar, one of the Volturi who can see special powers in vampires and humans, was looking for strong, new vampires to join their number. He saw Felix and me fighting. He recognised that I had potential to be a great tracker, as well as my physical prowess, so he mentioned me to Aro.

"A few nights later, I had a lady visitor that was a little different than the others. She was cold and had skin like marble; I thought she was Venus come to life. I was right to think she wasn't human, but she definitely wasn't a goddess!"

Demetri smiled to himself. I wondered if that vampire was still a member of the Volturi, and exactly what the visit entailed, but I did not ask.

"She asked me to follow her, and I did. She took me to Aro. He asked if would I swear my loyalty to the Volturi, and in return he would grant me eternal life."

"They _asked_ you if you wanted to be a vampire? And you said _yes_?"

"It's all about how you sell the prospect, and he made it sound very good. He neglected to tell me exactly what he was, until he bit me and it became obvious. I saw that he was wealthy, and that he commanded the respect of those around him. It seemed like an improvement from the sand of the training ground and the company of sweaty gladiators." .

"I would have chosen the sweaty gladiators," I blurted.

Demetri's mouth lifted in a half-smile. _Vampires or gladiators?_ I thought to myself. _Maybe a vampire gladiator was a good compromise between the two._

"I felt like I was burning in Tartarus, or hell as you would know it. They threw me in a room with another human going through the transformation. When I woke up, I recognised him as Felix. In the beginning we were very volatile and fought over anything and everything. We practically tore the building down.

"During that first year, I found it quite handy that I could be put back together. Once we settled down, our fighting abilities made us very useful enforcers, as Aro, Marcus and Caius have always been more mental than physical. We became the arms of the Volturi and played a big part in their rise to power.

"The extent of my tracking abilities became apparent, and for a while I was the jewel in the Volturi's crown. It is quite intimidating, knowing you can be found anywhere in the world, and that you cannot evade justice.

"Then the witch twins came on the scene a few centuries ago." He made a face, and I gathered that he wasn't particularly friendly. "Since they arrived, Felix and I have moved a rung or two down the ladder. We end up doing most of the dirty work, the things Jane thinks are beneath her and her brother.

"I have no regrets about becoming a vampire, and although there are some things I dislike about being part of the Volturi, I have been happy with them for almost two thousand years."

I wrinkled up my nose in disgust.

Demetri laughed at my expression. "One thousand, nine hundred and fifty-three years old, and I still don't look a day over twenty-five."

I took a moment to process what he had told me. I wondered if he could be so cold and matter of fact because it all happened so long ago, or whether that was just his nature. It seemed so out of sync with the Demetri I'd built up in my own mind. I had so many questions, but I could not find the words to say them in a way that would not break the open and relaxed atmosphere.

Once it was safe to open my mouth, I used my most suggestive tone. "I don't suppose I could talk you into wearing a loin cloth later?"

"Are you keen for a history lesson? I know lots about Roman debauchery; I lived in Pompeii, after all." He smirked at me and pulled me back onto his lap.

I smiled at him and wound my arms around his neck. "I want to learn all about what gladiators would do with their lady visitors."

"I can put that on the curriculum. Now, have I ever told you how much ancient Romans used to enjoy having fun in hot baths?"

~X~

**A/N – I got inspiration for Demetri's background from a made up back story created by Charlie Bewley (drool), the actor who portrayed him in New Moon and Eclipse (squeee – loved it. Although not enough Demetri for my liking!) **

**To research this chapter I read 'Pompeii' by Richard Harris, and did a heck of a lot of Googling. I wish I could reference every single website but there are so many. Notable sources however are Wikipedia (of course) and .com/ **

**Handy information:**

Mount Vesuvius, which is situated on the Bay of Naples, erupted in 79AD, destroying the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum; Misenum was further up the coast.

Just in the interest of mental pictures ;), a _hoplomachus_ was a heavily armed gladiator, who carried a small, round, bronze shield, a _gladius_ (sword) and a spear. They wore a loin cloth and a belt, and had quilted fabric leg wraps like trousers. They had long shin guards on both legs, an arm guard on their left arm and a brimmed helmet. Romans liked to base their gladiators on specific types of barbarian warriors, and this type was based on an ancient Greek tribe.

They were paired with _myrmillones_ who also wore a loin cloth and a belt, a short greave on their right leg, leather wrist guards and wrappings on their feet. They wore an arm guard and a helmet with a fish crest with slits for eyes. They carried a _gladius_ and a long oblong shield like a legionnaire. They replaced the Gallus type of gladiator once it became less politically correct and Gauls were no longer seen as barbarians.

.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_gladiator_types

There are lots of resources on Roman names; there were a limited number of praenomen (Lucius, Titus, Marcus etc.) to choose from; a nomen, which was a family name, (i.e. Demetrius, Claudius), and a Cognomen which was a more specific family name or nickname, usually based on physical characteristics (i.e. Flavius means blonde haired.) A woman's name was generally their father's nomen made feminine (i.e. Julius, Julia), or a nickname (i.e. Hortensia, likes gardens.)

(.org/wiki/Choosing_a_Roman_Name)

Two tier names were still common during Demetri's human years. Anyone joining the Roman Empire was encouraged to choose a Roman name. In this story I'm insinuating Felix was a massive Gaul, who either chose or was forced to become a Gladiator. The name he later chose to go by as a vampire was his Cognomen, Felix, which means lucky.

A _ludi_ was a gladiator training school. The gladiatorial troupe was called a _familia._ They were generally very close knit and felt a little like being in the army.

Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Romans who could afford it liked to spend a lot of time in baths, which were very social places. This might explain Demetri's fixation with the hot tub—just saying!

Tartarus was Roman 'hell' with fire and torture, as described by Virgil in the Aneid. (Nowforruin, along with various other tidbits of Roman knowledge.)


	9. Chapter 9 A Bit of Fun

CHAPTER 9 – A BIT OF FUN

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks to solareclipses and nowforruin for beta-ing this for me. I think you guys are awesome!**

**I want to say thank you to Camilla on Twilighted for helping me with some issues with Italian translations, and thanks to TheRainGirl4 for prereading my chapters for me. **

**Oh and to finish my Oscar acceptance speech I want to mention the awesome banner and blinkie Don'tCallMeLeeLee has made for Red Eyes—love them! Follow her on twitter, on dntcallmeLeeLee to find out about the One Shot Awards she's organising.**

~X~

_Say a prayer to yourself,_

_He says "Close your eyes,_

_Sometimes it helps."_

_And then I get a scary thought,_

_That he's here means he's never lost._

_And you can see my heart beating,_

_You can see it through my chest._

_Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving._

_I know that I must pass this test,_

_So just pull the trigger._

Russian Roulette, Rihanna

~X~

Our journey fell into a pattern; I would sleep through the day until early evening, and then we'd spend a little time together before we ran through the night. If we found a place we particularly liked, or more likely found there was something else we'd rather be doing, then we would stay there instead of continuing on our way. We'd been on the road for two weeks, rather than six days as we had initially planned. That wasn't a reflection of the speed we could run, but more of the fact we could not keep our hands off each other.

Tonight it was cold, and the rain was coming down in sheets. My outer layer of fur was soaked, but it was still thick enough to keep me warm and dry underneath. Demetri was running alongside me, weighed underneath our luggage and soaked to the skin. Neither of us was particularly affected by the weather, but tonight he was quiet, and I wondered what he was thinking.

We'd crossed into Canada, and now we were headed to our final stop-over before we reached New York. For all I wanted to see the Big Apple for myself, part of me would be sad for our journey to come to an end. After New York, I didn't know what Demetri had in mind for us, or how long he was planning on staying there.

One thing was for sure, I was becoming slightly attached to him. The prejudicial wolf inside of me had once assumed that he was a soulless killing machine, but the longer I was with him, the more he seemed _almost_ human in my eyes.

He was far from perfect; he was cocky, arrogant, and obsessed with sex, but he was also caring, generous, intelligent, and at times, unbelievably funny. When I pictured him in my own head, he was no longer a vampire or a monster—he was simply Demetri.

His flamboyant mannerisms amused me, and his insatiable libido was reassuring; it helped me forget the rejection I had suffered in the past. He reminded me that I was still young, passionate and attractive.

I wouldn't say that it was all sunshine and roses, as at times little things he said or did would irritate me and send me into a foul mood. His extreme politeness was at complete odds with my abrasive manner, and thankfully my attitude did not seem to faze him. It was hard to argue when I couldn't provoke a response any stronger than amusement, or simply give him a window to initiate angry sex.

His wardrobe was becoming quite extensive and he'd had to invest in a large camping backpack to carry it from place to place. It was mostly his, as my personal belongings didn't take up a great deal of room.

I had to admit, I loved his new image, even if he was taking it a little too seriously. Now that he wasn't hidden under dark layers, the fact that he was in possession of one hell of a body was very easy to see. Demetri in jeans and a t-shirt did as much for me as any makeshift loin cloth. He looked as close to human as any vampire could be, a far cry from the gothic-looking figure that had been lurking near my car weeks ago.

I had forgotten that once upon a time, I had considered him to be my natural enemy. What was once strange and unnatural was starting to become familiar, and I was becoming rather fond of many of his vampire habits. Maybe too fond.

One of the things I loved most was the fact he would lie with me until I fell asleep, and then when I opened my eyes he would be there watching me, waiting for me to wake. It was almost as if he had been there all night, although I knew that was not the case.

My waiting breakfast or some other small surprise would prove that he had been active while I slept, as did his change of clothing. I preferred it that way; the idea of being watched by a man-eater while I was unconscious creeped me out. Also, if Demetri had caught me dreaming before I woke, he would take great pleasure in telling me if I had been growling, twitching, or even worse, snoring. Less time watching me sleep meant he was less likely to witness me doing these things.

Despite the butterflies of lust and infatuation, I mainly felt at ease around him, and that I could unashamedly be myself. As well as the great sex, we were also in danger of developing a healthy friendship.

The only time I did not feel comfortable around him was when his eyes grew dark, and he began to look at me with a more intense glare and flared nostrils. He would keep his distance, and I would be thankful that I smelled of 'nature,' not food.

When he was like this conversation became stilted, and he seemed ready to pounce at any second. This in turn set my own nerves on edge, yet I had enough instinct to keep my big mouth shut and my temper as sweet as possible for my own self-preservation. Those days he was a cold, dangerous vampire, not my Demetri.

When I fell asleep, he would not lie next to me, as he was unable to stand the proximity. I would wake to find bright crimson eyes smiling back at me, and it would take me a few hours to accept the fact that he had ended a life overnight. I would be the one keeping my distance, but I was glad to have almost-human Demetri back with me.

I was shocked at how regularly he needed to feed. He told me that he was feeding a little more often than he usually would. The constant temptation of blood, even werewolf blood, combined with the fact he was unaccustomed at having to resist for anything more than short periods of time, made having a lover and constant companion with blood pumping through her veins a little intense for him.

I had become enraged that despite the fact I was his lover my blood still tempted him. My anger that he could even consider killing me for a half second caused a blazing argument. That argument had then evolved into a particularly heated reminder of the fact that the sex was good enough to tolerate the occasional errant thought, so long as he was well-fed enough to resist.

I felt pulled in so many directions; I was disgusted by his food source, freaked out by the fact I was in danger, addicted to the sex, and a little infatuated with his personality. What could I say? I was a complicated woman, and never let it be said that I liked it easy.

He'd managed to stick to his new, 'Leah Clearwater approved' diet. I was pleased. After all, I'd promised both of us that I would leave immediately if he slipped up.

I did not want him to slip up.

One time, I had ventured to ask Demetri about the victim he had chosen. It made me feel a little better when he told me that his victim had been a very ill, elderly man. It was some consolation that Demetri was just speeding up the process for a man that had been suffering. Part of me swallowed the justification, while another part rejected it.

The compromise was more upsetting than I had anticipated when I suggested it, but he was abiding by my rules. I had also not anticipated the difference between thirsty and fed Demetri, and the fact he obviously suffered gave me an appreciation of how hard he was having work just to be with me. It was hard to not let that tug at your heartstrings.

I was in serious danger of letting this guy too far in. _Just sex_, I reminded myself. _Just a bit of fun._

I accelerated ahead and began to weave in random directions through the trees. His cumbersome luggage now put my manoeuvrability on par, and I loved any opportunity to demonstrate how easily I could shake him off.

I found a particularly nice spot by the side of a lake and stopped. It was dark, and fragrant pines led all the way to the water's edge, with the exception of a small embankment. I took a deep lungful, phased back to human and paused.

_Twenty...twenty-one...twenty-two...twenty-three..._ I counted to myself.

"You can run, but you can't hide." His melodic voice was suddenly inches from my neck, and the pack laid on the ground.

I turned round to look at him and smiled suggestively. "Good, because I like being found."

Demetri looked shocked at my obvious flirting; I was normally harder work. His cold arms wound around my wet, bare waist and he pulled me closer into him.

"Demetri...?" I whispered.

"_La lupa._"

"If I asked for something, would you do it for me?"

Demetri growled into the curve of my neck. Cold rain water dripped from his soaked hair and trickled down my heated body. "Anything. Your wish is my command, Leah."

"I want to go out on a date." I smiled to myself. Teasing was new to me, but I was quickly getting the hang of it.

"If you want to go on a date, we shall go on a date. Just let me know when and where." His hands began to wander around my body; I allowed him to explore for a few moments.

"Well...how about...now—" I phased suddenly, knocking him off his feet, and cantered away towards the trees, barking in amusement.

"Dirty wolf tricks!" Demetri yelled after me. "You could have just asked without leading me on. Leah Clearwater, you are a tease!"

I sped up and headed towards the town we intended on staying in for our final night on the road. Yes, just a bit of fun. I wasn't going to let any man, or vampire, play games with me.

~X~

We checked into the hotel around seven. As usual Demetri had warned that our 'flight' would be arriving in the wee hours and made sure our unconventional check-in time was okay. It seemed that the bad weather had set in for the day, so there was very little chance of being kept prisoner in the room by the sun.

After a quick shower for me and a change of clothing for both of us, we headed straight out. The slight flaw in my plan for a date became apparent when I realised it was a little early in the day for most places, but luckily we found a bowling alley that opened early. Bowling it was.

Demetri was unimpressed; he was a bowling virgin and had no inclination to learn. He considered it a waste of time and left me in no doubt of what he would rather be doing. I reminded him of the fact that it wasn't my fault the organ in his pants had promised to go out on a date. I was holding Demetri responsible for its actions, and we were going bowling—_now_. He muttered something under his breath about manipulative, teasing wolves.

_So much for being a polite, old-fashioned kind of guy_, I thought. Maybe I was rubbing off on him a little.

Bowling wasn't really much of a challenge for werewolves and vampires, and we proceeded to hit strikes with every ball. The bored middle-aged woman and teenage boy running the lanes regarded us with interest, but despite our apparent talents, left us to it. I put it down to the nervous looks and atmosphere I had sensed between the humans and Demetri when we'd arrived. I had forgotten how intimidating he was.

I used the lack of effort required to play the game to concentrate on making conversation. When we were alone, it was far too easy to forgo talking. I was starting to wonder if that meant Demetri wasn't interested in me beyond the physical. I didn't know why that irked me so much.

I guessed now was an ideal opportunity to question him and find out more.

I shot another ball down the alley and sent all ten pins flying. "So have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"A girlfriend? Not as such. I do have a female vampire friend—with benefits, but I've never mated." He got up to take another turn at firing a ball down the alley with disinterest. Again, the pins were no match for him.

I scowled at the thought of his female vampire 'friend'. "Oh really, friends with benefits, huh? What's her name?"

"Heidi," he said flatly as he sat down. "She used to go by Hortensia when I first met her, but decided to change it when that got a little outdated." He smiled to himself. He was obviously fond of this girl, and I did not like that.

"How long have you known her?" I tried my hardest to keep the disapproval from my voice, but I was unsuccessful.

"Are you jealous?" Demetri chuckled, and I just turned and scowled as I picked up another ball. "I've said she wasn't my girlfriend or my mate. I've known her since I was turned. She was the woman who lured me out of my gladiator school—that's her talent."

"What talent?" I turned away to aim. "The power to be irresistible to gladiators?" I sent the pins crashing again.

"Leah, there is no need to be jealous—trust me. She's a friend, and she always has been a friend. It's just that we have sex once in a while; it's never been a romantic arrangement. It's a vampire thing; you probably wouldn't understand. Blood and lust—they go hand-in-hand." He paused for a while. "I could ask you the same question. Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

I waited until it was my turn again, so I wouldn't have to look at him. "Yes, I had a boyfriend once. We'd been together since high school, and we were in love—until he imprinted on my cousin."

"He imprinted? What does that mean? I think you mentioned something about imprinting in your sleep a week or so ago."

I hesitated; I did not want to give him the information, but then it was vital for the story. I decided the romantic side of werewolves was unlikely to give a vampire any tactical advantage, and so I explained.

"It's something that happens to werewolves. It's how some of us choose our mates; that person becomes the centre of your world. Kind of like love at first sight, but far more intense. He saw my cousin, and I lost him in a heartbeat." My spirits sank as I explained and relived the pain.

He smiled at me. "So have you imprinted on me? Is that why you can't resist my hot, vampire sex?"

"Actually, no." It was now time for Demetri's face to drop. _So now he wanted me to imprint on him, huh? Interesting..._ I decided to spare him my thoughts on the possibility; I wasn't a big fan of the supernatural bond, and I didn't want to be slave to some guy that I barely knew. "Not every wolf imprints; some of us get to have some choice in the matter of who we spend our lives with. I don't even know if I can, being the only female wolf ever."

"There has_ never_ been a she-wolf before you? You are even more unique than I first thought." He got up and took another turn to bowl. "So your ex-boyfriend was a wolf. How does wolf sex compare to being with a vampire?"

I gave him a look and refused to answer the question. He could make of that what he would.

"So anything else I should know about being with a wolf while you are being more forthcoming than usual?"

"Oh, yes, I'm glad you brought this up. You can't ever get any venom in my bloodstream. It's poisonous to me, and you'd kill me instantly."

"Really?" Demetri seemed shocked. "So being with me is very risky for you. I'll make sure that never happens."

I smiled.

"So how did you become a wolf? Did your ex bite and turn you?"

"No, it's genetic. You are either born with the ability to be a shapeshifter or not. Vampires in the area trigger the change."

"All in the genes? So are you born as humans? Or puppies?" Demetri joked.

I scowled. "We don't change until we're around teenage or early twenties, so we're born as humans."

"Do you think you'll ever have children? Maybe you're the first in a long line of she-wolves."

I shook my head and tried to stop my face from crumbling. "No, I can't have children; I'm infertile. At least until such a time as I can stop being a werewolf." _Damn, so much for keeping wolf secrets._ It seemed every time I opened my mouth to explain, something else fell out.

"You can stop being a werewolf?"

"Yes, if you stop phasing, then your body goes to back to normal. You lose the ability to change and start aging again—"

"You don't age? You're immortal?" Demetri looked confused.

"No, I'm not immortal. We age until we reach twenty-five physically, and then we stay there until we become normal again."

"How old is the oldest werewolf?" he asked.

"Twenty-three, like me," I replied.

"But I thought you said you didn't age? Surely there would be someone older?"

"Just because we can stop aging, it doesn't mean that we choose to. I think even the great chiefs in our history only lived for a couple of centuries. I can imagine when everyone around you who isn't a wolf dies, it soon becomes old—"

"No, living forever never gets old—_if_ you make the most of your time. So are you telling me that your pack chooses to die, even though you could live indefinitely?" His brow was furrowed, but then he shrugged. "Wolves are even crazier than I first thought. Although, I guess you have given me some good news. I might have to reassess the amount of time I was going to take on leave, now that I know you don't have an expiration date."

"And how long were you intending on spending with me exactly?" I now turned and gave him my full attention.

"Well, when I thought you were as mortal as the next human, I was thinking you might have ten, maybe twenty years if you looked after yourself. A decade or two is nothing when you are as old as me. Now I know you're not going to get all wrinkly on me, I—"

I lifted my ball high above my head and sent it crashing to the ground with a roar, turning the wooden floor it connected with into splinters.

"You superficial, arrogant leech!" I screamed at him. "A decade or two is nothing to you, huh? Provided I don't get wrinkly. Well, screw you—asshole." I turned and stormed out of the building.

The spotty teenager attempted to stop me and question me about the damage, but one meaningful glare from Demetri as he caught up with me stunned him into silence.

"Leah, don't get all aggressive over nothing. Maybe I phrased it wrong." I didn't stop. "Leah? _La lupa?_"

"I'm off to bed. I'm tired," I snarled as I walked away.

"Can I come?" Demetri asked hopefully. He was rewarded with my well practiced 'bitch-face'. He smiled in amusement. "Can I take that as a yes?"


	10. Chapter 10 New York, New York

CHAPTER 10 – NEW YORK, NEW YORK

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thank you to Samantha Jane Hourd and Camilla for their help with the Italian translations and grammar—greatly appreciated!**

**And thanks as always to Nowforruin, Solareclipses (for looking at this chapter before and after surgery – thanks guys) and TheRainGirl4 for all their help on Red Eyes. I appreciate the chance to learn from you guys, and your thoroughness helps this story become something so much better than I could create on my own.**

~X~

_Trying hard to control my heart,_

_I walk over to where you are,_

_Eye to eye, we need no words at all._

_Slowly now we begin to move,_

_Every breath I'm deeper into you,_

_Soon we two are standing still in time,_

_If you read my mind, you'll see._

_I'm crazy for you._

Crazy for You, Madonna

~X~

I didn't give into him; I went to bed and left him to entertain himself while I slept. Almost immediately I dropped into a deep sleep, but while I slumbered my subconscious processed the earlier conversation.

I jolted awake with a sudden realisation. _A decade, maybe two,_ and he was going to reassess now that he knew I didn't have an expiry date.

_Woah._

My heart pounded until my head argued back. Decades were nothing to him, and he didn't want me if I got wrinkly on him. Hope rose, and then was beaten back down again before it could get too high.

I scanned the room for Demetri. I heard him before my eyes connected with a dark figure standing outside on the windswept balcony. I couldn't see his face, but I knew it was him; how many other men did I know with buttocks firm enough to remove bottle caps?

"_Ciao Samantha, come stai?__?"_ he said, and then paused. I heard a muffled voice reply from his cell.

"_Sto bene. E come sta Felix__?_" His Italian words still affected me in wonderful ways, so I lay in bed and observed him as he spoke. It was obvious I was going to have to learn Italian, as I had no idea what he was saying.

"_No, non per un po'_..._ Potresti non dire niente ad Aro per ora_." I recognised the name Aro and a few other words, so I listened with a little more interest.

"_E' difficile da fare, ma qualcuno deve farlo..__.__Dai a Heidi i miei saluti, mi deve dei soldi_."Heidi—I understood that loud and clear.

"_Va bene, la lupa si è svegliata, Ti chiamerò in seguito. Ciao__._" Demetri ended the call, then turned and smiled at me through the glass. I narrowed my eyes and glared.

'Felix...nothing...Aro...difficult...Heidi...she-wolf and 'bye': my brief understanding of the conversation wasn't filling me with confidence.

"Good evening, _la lupa_," he drawled, as he came inside the room.

"Who were you speaking to?" I snapped. I stared at him intensely, as if my eyes were interrogation lamps.

"I was just ringing home. Why the strange reaction? You ring home almost every day."

Either he was very good at justifying his actions, or I was just too darn suspicious. I realised his logic was flawless, meaning I couldn't really argue with it—which was a shame. I felt in the mood to lock horns.

My eyes glittered with anger, and I set my jaw at a defiant angle as I looked at him. He paused and awaited my response, knowing he was going to feel the full force of my disapproval. When I beckoned him over to the bed, his face broke into a smile and he approached me. That smile only got wider when I grabbed a handful of his t-shirt and flung him on the bed.

"Remind me to ring home more often."

"Shut up." I proceeded to silence him with my mouth as I tore the t-shirt from his body. If I couldn't justify taking out my anger on him verbally, then I was sure he wouldn't complain if I chose to do it sexually. He allowed me to pin him to the bed, and I gladly took advantage of the situation.

~X~

I was so thorough in my passionate demonstration that I made us late. We arrived in New York much later than we had planned.

Climbing the stairs out of the subway and seeing New York for the first time, I looked up at the buildings around me...and then up...and up a little more. I saw the Chrysler building with my own eyes; it glittered in the early morning light. My gaze returned to ground level and saw yellow cabs and smoke rising from the grates; somewhere in the distance sirens wailed. I was on a goddamn movie set.

I turned to my vampire companion, and for a moment we just smiled at one another.

"We should check in before it gets too sunny. I think it's going to be a lovely day." Demetri grinned at me.

Luckily we were mostly in shadow, but Demetri put down his pack to find his large grey coat. He pulled the collar up around his face, just in case any errant beams caught him. It wasn't quite rush hour, but already a number of people were going about their business, blue and white coffee cups in hand.

One thing was for sure—I would need a new wardrobe. In my jeans, t-shirt and bare arms, I stood out amongst the natives in their long, dark winter coats.

"Yeah, let's go get you in a hotel room before you start lighting up Broadway."

"I do love sunny days." Demetri sighed.

I turned to him. "Me, too."

The hotel was nicely appointed, if not as flashy as I'd expected from my flamboyant vampire friend. However, it was tucked away in a quiet, shadowy side street—I could see why he had chosen it. Nestled in amongst buildings of varying shape and size, there would be plenty of cover for creatures of the night.

Demetri dropped the pack in the corner of the room and made a noise of disgust as he realised the windows didn't open. "Well, there goes my first choice of exit. It's going to be so inconvenient waiting for a lift or taking the stairs," he complained.

I grabbed my toothbrush, toothpaste and face wash and headed towards the bathroom. An icy arm caught me around my waist, pulling me so close that my ass ground into his groin.

"Where are you going?" he growled into my ear, as his free hand ran up my thigh. "We need to christen the room."

~X~

Later, we went out into the wilds of New York at night to hunt me down some human food. I went for fajitas washed down with Bud in a restaurant with large glass windows, so I could watch New Yorkers going around their business.

Demetri watched me intently as I ate and I drank. "I've never seen you drink alcohol before," he commented.

"I don't usually. I probably won't be able to handle too many; I'm not used to it."

Demetri grinned mischievously. "Are you scared I might try to have my wicked way with you?"

"Scared? Never. Hoping...? Maybe."

Demetri gave me a strange look, and then adjusted himself under the table. I beamed victoriously and returned to my food.

Once I'd finished eating, we headed out into the cold night and walked about the city streets. The beers had gone straight to my head and words spewed out of my mouth. Conversation flowed freely around what we'd most like to see and how much the city had changed since Demetri had last spent any leisure time here. He wrapped a cold arm around my warm shoulders as we talked and wandered aimlessly.

Once we'd seen enough for one night, we headed back to the room, the concierge only giving us the briefest of glances while we waited for the elevator. Once inside, Demetri pushed me against the mirrored back wall and kissed me, while his hands immediately sought out my breasts.

The alcohol had made me giddy, so I laughed and pushed him off me. "Hey, stop invading my personal space."

Demetri laughed back. "Trust me, Leah—you would notice if I was 'invading' your 'personal space'."

He kissed me again and made another try for the chest, but I wriggled free, doing my best impression of his voice and over-the-top manner of speaking. "Demetri, my dear, patience is a virtue."

He smiled. "I'm wondering if I'm going to prefer drunk, relaxed Leah to angry, rip-your-clothes-from-your-body Leah." He tried to kiss me again, but I dodged him.

I chuckled. "You will just have to wait and see, won't you? You're not having me in the elevator. I thought you Volturi types were meant to be all about subtlety and staying hidden from view."

"It's perfectly natural for human men to attempt to have sex in elevators—I'm just trying to blend in."

The door to the elevator opened and we walked the short distance to the room. I purposefully dawdled, but the second the door closed we were on each other and joined at the mouth.

I pressed my body against his, trying to put as much of myself in contact with him as was physically possible. He tried to crush me closer still, while our hands made light work of each other's clothes. I wanted to taste every single inch of his naked skin, and I needed to feel every part of him. The feeling seemed to be entirely mutual.

He walked me over to the bed and delicately spread my legs. His hands lightly ran up my thighs, over my stomach and kneaded my breasts, before they eventually found the wetness between my legs. I involuntarily lifted my hips in invitation. Two cold fingers were given a hot, slick welcome, while his thumb gently massaged my clit.

I groaned in ecstasy, and then again when his mouth closed around my nipple, his icy tongue causing it to pucker.

"Damn, Demetri. I need you," I slurred.

"Leah, my dear," he teased. "Patience is a virtue. Luckily, when it comes to sex it's not a virtue I have."

He wrapped my legs around him, and then slowly buried his swollen cock in my feverish, soaking pussy. He slid out slowly, and then firmly pressed back into me. I arched and met his motion. He pulled out, and then pushed himself back in. I arched again. His motions were measured and deliberate, but gradually increasing in pace and force. Before long, I was gasping, moaning and teetering on the threshold.

I wasn't even aware it was going through my head.

Somewhere between the beers, the excitement of being here in the city, and the sensation of my body wrapped around his, I'd taken complete leave of all rational thought. It had slipped out without any warning, as I tumbled over the edge into complete orgasmic oblivion.

"I _love_ you." It was breathy, and for a second I wasn't even sure that it had really passed my lips. The sudden flush of mortification I felt sobered me, as good as if I'd just been dowsed in a bucket of ice water. _Goddamn it, Leah, why on earth did you say that?_

Demetri averted his gaze and buried his head in the curve of my neck, while he continued to fill me and then withdraw until he found his own release. _He heard_, I realised. He'd heard and now he was trying his best to hide—even though he was in me, on me and all around me.

When he came, it wasn't the only cold sensation inside of me; a sudden chill gripped my chest, and I felt sick to my stomach. After, Demetri rolled onto his back beside me on the bed; I turned away from him.

_Aw fuck, it was true. _I was in love with a goddamn vampire I'd known for a couple of weeks_._ My rib cage expanded with the joy of self-discovery, until it was constricted by realisation that he hadn't returned my sentiment. I panicked internally; my heart raced, and I fought back the lump in my throat and wetness in my eyes. What kind of self-destructive moron was I?

"Leah? Are you okay?"

I turned and looked him straight in the eye. For a second we just lay and stared at each other in silence. I'd said three unexpected words—words that he couldn't return—and those three words had been enough to put up an unscaleable wall of awkwardness between us.

I snorted—it wasn't quite a laugh and there was no humour behind it. "I'm fine. I'm going to sleep."

"Goodnight, _la lupa_." Demetri kissed my shoulder softly and then climbed out of bed, reaching for his abandoned clothes.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm going for a run. I need a little air."

"Fine. Goodnight." I rolled onto my side and tried to ignore him. Before he left the room he took the key card, and I thought I sensed him hesitate before he closed the door behind him. I tried to pretend that I wasn't aware of his every move.

Unrequited love—it was a bitch. I should know.

~X~

TRANSLATIONS

_Ciao Samantha, come stai?_ - Hi there, how are you Samantha?

_Sto bene. E come sta Felix?_ – Great. And how is Felix?

_No, non per un po'. _– No, not for a while yet.

_Potresti non dire niente ad Aro per ora._ – Could you tell Aro nothing as yet.

_E' difficile da fare, ma qualcuno deve farlo.._ – It's a hard job but someone has to do it.

_Dai a Heidi i miei saluti, mi deve dei soldi_ - Tell Heidi I said hello, she owes me some money.

_Va bene, la lupa si è svegliata, Ti chiamerò in seguito. Ciao_. – Ok, the she wolf's awake, I will ring another time. 'Bye.


	11. Chapter 11 Heart of Glass

CHAPTER 11 – HEART OF GLASS

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks to my awesome betas and pre-readers for all their support—as always I'm very grateful. **

**I have had a hell of a week this week, but I've started and caught up on some mind-blowing fics that I think readers of this story might also like. I've added them at the bottom after the translations so you don't have to read if you don't want to, but seriously—I can't stress how much pleasure these stories have given me this week. I feel humbled.**

**Angst and lime.**

~X~

_Once I had a love and it was a gas,  
Soon turned out had a heart of glass.  
Seemed like the real thing, only to find,  
Much of mistrust, love's gone behind._

Heart of Glass, Blondie

~X~

I was thoroughly screwed—and not in the good way. It wasn't the first time I'd wanted someone I couldn't have, but with Demetri it was different.

The first rejection had been swift, brutal and complete; one minute we loved each other, and the next he belonged to her. Sam had been quick in letting me know that it was over, and not to try and win him back. It was final. The plaster had been ripped clean off, but my wound had gotten infected and festered for years after. I'd become a bitter and twisted version of the girl I had once been, and angry at the world for the constant cruel jokes it had played on me.

This time it was as if the plaster was being peeled away slowly, and I felt every tug intensely. I couldn't be angry at anyone but myself; Demetri had never promised me anything, yet I'd dived in on my own volition and gotten burned.

We still spent time together; we still had sex, and I continued to enjoy his company. He hadn't openly rejected me—he just hadn't responded in kind. I did not repeat the words, and he never once brought the matter up in conversation.

I accepted that his reassessment of the length of time we were to spend together would be shorter after my cringe-worthy admission. There had been a definite shift in atmosphere since that night, and I was getting the signal from Demetri loud and clear. "_I like you, but that's not what I want_."

In a way, I was grateful for the emotional distance he was giving me; if he edged away gently, maybe I wouldn't even notice when he physically left. I consoled myself that nothing lasted forever, anyway: love, hope, people and even vampires—I'd dispatched a few of them myself.

Once our "relationship" was dead and buried, then I would be free to go back to my life in Forks and see what options presented themselves. Until that time, I was going to make a few memories worth fretting about once it was all over. I threw myself into making the most of every moment in New York. We shopped, danced, explored, and did the tourist thing. I loved the city, although not as much as I loved _him_. I was a goddamn lovesick puppy.

I'd never looked for perfection in a man, and as such I never expected it, but I had decided that Demetri was perfect for _me_. After all, I wasn't about to win any happy, normal and well-adjusted personality of the year awards. For all he had his flaws, he was also generous and took my moods in his stride with good nature.

I was going to miss the way his face creased when he smiled and his flamboyant wit. I stored memories of each and every facial expression away, like photos to look at some day in the future when I wanted to remember happy times past. His face—and his body—were beautiful, of course, and he knew it, but it wasn't just the wrapping that had sucked me in. I loved the substance too.

And then there was his sex drive.

The man was insatiable, and I wondered how on earth I was ever going to readjust to being single and frustrated again. I'd had more sex in the last month than I'd had in my entire lifetime. I remembered that it had taken a year to decide I didn't miss the physical side of love last time; with Demetri, it was going to take _so_ much longer.

Demetri was the perfect companion, which only amplified my heartache. He showed me the sights of the city—it was every girl's dream: hot guy, all expenses paid trip to New York, copious amounts of sex, shop till you drop, wined and dined. With my luck, however, it had turned into a painful experience. Someone up there really didn't like me.

I laughed when I should, threw him a cutting remark when required, and gave my all in the bedroom. All the while, I tried my hardest to hide the turmoil inside me. If Demetri ever noticed that my smile didn't quite reach my eyes, he never said.

Tonight, we'd found a quiet spot in Central Park, and we were having a three a.m. picnic. The Park was abandoned, and the darkness was ideal for a werewolf and vampire date. If it wasn't for the knowledge that I was already in deeper than he was, then I would have found it highly romantic. I lay on the blanket eating an apple, while I looked up at the bare trees. Demetri broke the silence first.

"Do you think you should phase? It has been a few weeks, and I don't want to risk you losing your ability to turn wolf—"

"Or start aging," I butted in. My eyes flashed, daring him to say more. "Don't worry it takes longer than a few weeks to stop shifting. You're going to have to be a bit more imaginative to try and get me out of my clothes tonight."

Demetri smiled. "You're beginning to know me too well, Leah."

I turned and looked at him. "Really? I don't think I know that much at all."

"You know what is important. Just because you don't know what I've done every single minute of every single day of the last nineteen centuries, it doesn't mean that you don't know _me_."

"Hmmm," I replied, and took another bite of my apple. I was having an off night and I couldn't think of a cutting response; it was probably the hopelessly romantic setting softening my edges.

Demetri lay a little closer to me and started fiddling with the bottom button of my white shirt. I looked at his hand and then directly into his eyes to show that I knew his game. He just smiled back and continued to play with the button.

"There's a function I believe we could crash tomorrow evening. We don't get many opportunities to really get dressed up. We could buy you a nice evening dress...?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" He was being really nice to me, as always, but I was hurting too much to be sweet in return. I didn't want well-meant pleasantries right now. I wanted raw emotion and heat.

"If you don't mind, I got you a little something. I thought you could wear it tomorrow night." He reached inside his coat and pulled something out. He kept it hidden inside his fist and moved behind me. I sat up and wondered what he was doing, until he fastened a silver chain with a crystal heart-shaped pendant around my neck.

I looked down at the jewellery and felt a little dumbfounded. "Wow, it's beautiful." Yet another flashy, extravagant bauble. I looked him in the eye, searching for any hidden signals.

"Like you, Leah." Demetri smiled, and then he moved closer and began to kiss my collarbone. _Well, maybe his agenda wasn't hidden too deep._.

Demetri had bought me many gifts: jewellery, clothes, and chocolate bars. I tried not to show that the beautiful crystal heart dangling from the chain caused my own to twist and stutter, so I hid behind my smart mouth. "Well, I have to give it to you, that's one imaginative way to get my clothes off in Central Park. I hope you didn't spend too much, but thanks."

"Not too much, and it's nothing. _Mi piaci di brutto."_

_It's nothing__, I convinced myself. __Just a crystal shape on a silver chain. _"You know I hate it when I don't know what you're saying," I complained, while I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation.

"I know," Demetri said, as his kisses moved up my neck to my jaw. His hand moved around to my chest and began opening buttons. _"__Hai da fare per I prossimi cent'anni?"_ His hand dipped inside my blouse and inside my bra. A bit of ice on a chain, a well placed cold hand, and he had me burning, as always.

I groaned and turned to seek out his mouth with my own. I wanted to stop the flow of his Italian sweet nothings before they did any more damage. I knew he hadn't said the one word I always listened for; the one I made sure I learned—_amore._

I leaned back into him and allowed his hands to wander. He deepened the kiss, and I melted. We were caught up in the heat of the moment, which was why we didn't realise that we weren't alone.

"Hey, Joe!" I heard a coarse voice. "Look, there are a couple of lovebirds in the trees." I heard laughter.

I immediately broke the kiss and began to fasten my shirt. Demetri hissed.

"Hey, kids, don't stop for us. If you're gonna put on a show, we don't mind watching." There were three men laughing in the dark, only yards away from where we sat. Weak light flashed in my direction, and I noticed it centred on my chest.

Demetri got to his feet and stared bloody daggers. He did not need torchlight to see; my own eyes were pretty sharp, too.

"Demetri, leave them; they're not worth it. Let's go back to the room." He looked down at me. For a second, even I found his glare intimidating, but then he softened as he focused on me rather than the men. He offered me his hand and helped me up.

Unfortunately, these men had no survival instinct or sense to quit while they were ahead.

"Hey, lady!" The largest of the three shouted. "That's a pretty necklace you're wearing."

The initial embarrassment had worn off, and now I was just pissed off that they had interrupted us. "Get lost, and go bother someone else. Assholes."

One of the guys pulled something out of his coat and pointed it towards us. It was a gun.

"Asshole, huh? I don't like being called an asshole. Now hand it over, and no-one will get hurt." His two companions pulled out knives and took on a defensive stance.

Demetri responded, "I suggest you leave now. If you so much as approach my girlfriend, I won't be responsible for my actions." He was livid, and I could feel him tense as I put my hand on his chest in a symbolic attempt to hold him back and calm him down.

"Demetri, we have a deal, remember? No-one gets hurt or I go."

The man with the gun roared with laughter. "Hey, guys, do you think this English dude is threatening us? I don't think I like his tone." The gun clicked as he armed it. "Now—I need that necklace."

I started to tremble with anger. I knew a bullet wouldn't harm Demetri, but just to have the gun trained on him was more than I could handle.

"Leah, _no_," Demetri warned me. "You cannot reveal—"

He was too late. My torn clothes flew into the air, and I suddenly exploded into wolf form. My fur stood on end; my snarl echoed throughout the entire park and reverberated off the surrounding skyscrapers. The muggers' jaws dropped open as they looked on in disbelief.

"What the f_uck__—"_

The men panicked, turned and ran. Only once they were out of my sight did I finally calm down and see the funny side of the situation. _Who's afraid of the big bad wolf now, boys?_

I became human again. Demetri removed his coat and offered it to me; for once he didn't use the opportunity to ogle me before I got decent.

"You shouldn't have done that," he began. "I really don't know where the law stands on what to do when a shapeshifter reveals themselves to humans, but I know what I should do if you were a vampire."

"I won't tell if you don't. Besides, I'm sure they were drunk; no-one will believe them."

"Sometimes my thoughts aren't my own, and I can't help but show what I'd rather not tell. My boss can read my mind." Demetri looked conflicted, and for a moment he was silent and still. To diffuse the situation I tried to give him my brightest, most sweet and innocent smile. I wasn't sure how genuine that came across.

He stared at me. "You've lost your necklace."

My hand flew to my throat. "Oh no! When I phased..." I began to look on the ground around me, but I knew from experience that clothing could be flung quite some distance when I changed. Demetri's keen eyes found it first, and held it up in his hand.

I was dismayed when I saw that it had snapped. "Demetri, I'm sorry—I broke it."

He stared transfixed at the chain, obviously doing more than assessing the damage.

Eventually he gave me a polite smile, coiled up the chain and put it back in his pocket. "Don't worry; I'm sure it's fixable. We should leave—immediately—as I'm sure you were heard at least four blocks away. We have unfinished business to attend to."

I wondered what he meant, until he turned and gave me a knowing grin. _Always about the goddamn sex._

~X~_  
_

TRANSLATIONS:

_Mi piaci di brutto. — _I like you way too much.

_Hai da fare per I prossimi cent'anni? _– What are you doing for the next hundred years?

The necklace Demetri bought Leah is a Tiffany HeartsTM Pendant, $1525.00. Which conveniently enough I can't find on their website any more to link. Demetri must have bought the last one.

~X~

**Awesome Fics:**

**Right, as I mentioned above, these fics have totally gotten me through this week. (Warning, both have lemons, but I guess you don't mind if you are reading my story!) They are:**

**FALLEN PRINCESS / ABSOLUTION BY BFORQUEEN – For Volturi lovers, Caius is father to a hybrid daughter and her upbringing is very different to Renesmee's. She crushes on a womanizing Demetri, and hurts a loveable Felix. Fallen Princess is OC POV and Absolution is Felix POV. Oh, and for those who can't bear to be without Cullens, they do appear in Fallen Princess 2****nd**** half.**

**And oh my God, I loved this from the start but the recent updates are awesome! ( failed to email me about them, but at least I had a bunch to read at once.) You must read THE CLIFFS OF ICARUS BY GREEEN GOLDFISH. I don't doubt that most of you will have heard of Midnight Son of a Biotch, but this is way better in my opinion. If you love painfully bittersweet, tortured Leah in love, then you will adore this. A rather excellent and wonderfully written Leah/Sam history. It rocks my world, and I fall asleep thinking about it. I have read the 10 chapters currently posted 3 times in 24 hours, it's that good! I actually fancy Sam for the first time EVER.**


	12. Chapter 12 Curveballs

CHAPTER 12 – CURVEBALLS

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**To Ally – sorry, I can't reply to your reviews as they're unsigned, but if you sign in next time I will definitely respond. I wouldn't like you to think that I'm ignoring you.**

**You wouldn't believe how hard it is to dress a fictional character for a night out. Nowforruin and Solar...I wussed out and went with heels in an unknown colour—too much choice! Thanks for the fashion advice...oh, and the grammar and story advice, too! Your comments brightened up my night!**

~X~

_I was a heavy heart to carry,_

_My beloved was weighed down,_

_My arms around his neck,_

_My fingers laced a crown,_

_I was a heavy heart to carry,_

_But he never let me down,_

_When he held me in his arms,_

_My feet never touched the ground._

Heavy in Your Arms, Florence and the Machine

~X~

I looked at the reflection in the mirror, and it took a few seconds to register that it was in fact me that I saw staring back. My hair was sleek and straightened. I was wearing makeup and my outfit—and well, my outfit was just perfection.

I'd finally settled on a strapless dress, which was cream-coloured with a hint of coffee. The colour accentuated my copper skin, and the cut highlighted my angled bone structure. I smiled at myself; I actually looked fairly hot for once. I'd never had the resources for retail therapy before, but it was amazing how it could give your self-esteem a temporary boost.

Demetri and I had hit the stores in a big way. I had been allowed to grab a few hours sleep, as that "unfinished business" took longer than I first imagined. He'd then dragged me to a department store and forced me to try on what seemed like a million outfits. To me a dress was a dress, but Demetri disagreed and attempted to educate me on things like cut and accessories.

If I didn't know better, I would swear he was gay.

Now our room looked like there was a yard sale going on; there were clothes, shoes, and bags everywhere. Of course, I'd decided on the very first dress I'd tried on, and now I had the task of digging out the co-ordinating footwear. They had to be in here somewhere...

I smelled a familiar perfume, and then heard the door creak open before Demetri stepped inside.

He paused when he saw me. "You look absolutely ravishing." He walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I've got a good mind to keep you indoors and forgo the socializing tonight."

He moved in for a kiss, which I quickly dodged. "Brush your teeth first; I know where you've been." His deep red eyes were now a bright crimson, which meant he was well fed.

Demetri frowned at my rejection but obediently headed off to the bathroom. I yelled after him, "You might want to start getting ready now. You take forever, and we're going to be fashionably late as it is."

He popped his head out of the door, and in true flamboyant Demetri style he said, "Leah, dear, the party doesn't start until we get there."

I rolled my eyes; this guy was the biggest drama queen I'd ever met. I heard the sound of a toothbrush coming from the other room, and I wandered over to the doorway to observe him.

"I'm ready. I'm not sitting around forever waiting for you."

Demetri smiled as he popped his toothbrush back in the holder. "I could always help you get unready." He leant in and claimed his kiss; he tasted of minty fresh vampire—the combination was weird.

"Bath. Now." My insides were already on alert after the kiss. I escaped back into the bedroom before my heart and hormones could betray me. Demetri was not beyond using his insight into the functioning of my biology, or any other underhand method available, to get me into a compromising position.

I dug through the piles of abandoned outfits, and finally found the heels that went with my dress. I had begun the hunt for the co-ordinating bag when Demetri called me.

"Leah, would you come talk to me while I'm in the bath? It would be nice to have some company."

I hesitated for a second; naked and Demetri were a dangerous combination. I knew enough by now to know that he probably had an ulterior motive, but his voice sounded less clear and confident than usual, as if he had something bad to tell me. For a second, I imagined the worst. My heart pounded, and I steeled myself for a blow before I walked into the room.

"If you think I'm doing your back for you, you're very much mistaken."

Demetri smiled at my snark. "I wouldn't dream of asking you to do so." He looked as if he was about to speak, but then changed his mind and looked irritated. It was obvious to both of us that we both had things going on inside our own heads, but neither of us knew where to begin.

I began to find the silence awkward; it seemed whatever was on his mind, he wasn't about to spit it out. I went first. "You've not dragged me in here to tell me you've slipped up, have you?"

"No, not at all. I stuck to my diet plan."

"Tonight is our last night?" I braced myself for his answer, but he shook his head. "Italy found out that my wolf moment in Central Park made the papers?"

It had been the smallest of comments, and of course, shown that they were entirely clueless as to what had been the cause. The muggers hadn't come forward to enlighten them.

Demetri had explained as we'd read the report that such a slip would not be looked upon kindly by his bosses, and for allowing them to escape he would likely pay for it when he returned. My heart had sunk, because _I'd_ fucked up, and also because it had reminded me that one day he would return to Italy.

"Not that I know of," Demetri replied. For a second, his smile dropped. He corrected his mask, but not before I had noticed. I wondered what was going on in that vampire brain of his.

"Then what?"

He smiled wider. "Nothing. Is it really so unbelievable that I might actually want to have a conversation with you while I'm in the bath?"

"Well, yeah it is. You naked generally means you'll try your hardest to get me in the same state, or at the very least get inside my pants. Naked and conversation are not a combination I associate with you."

"How very rude of me. It's a wonder you put up with it." I noticed a strangely intense look about his eyes. I couldn't understand why, as he'd just fed. "For the record, I like you in your clothes, too. You look wonderful tonight."

"What is this? Reverse psychology?"

"No, Leah, it's called a compliment."

"Oh, right." I turned off the snarkiness and eyed him quietly. I was sure he was hiding something.

Demetri also observed me in silence; I began to feel uncomfortable. I stood up, unfastened my zip and allowed my dress to fall to the floor. Demetri sat in the bath with a look of pleasant shock on his face, until I removed my thong. "Leah?"

"You're making me feel weird just sitting, staring at me, so I thought I'd give you something to stare at." I carefully folded my dress and placed it over the toilet seat. "If _this_ gets wet, you die."

We could always rely on sex to diffuse an awkward moment.

Demetri's strange mood dissipated, and he positively beamed as I stepped into the bath, positioning my legs on either side of him. My heart started pounding as I tangled my fingers in his hair, and then kissed his cold lips. His wet hands grabbed my buttocks and brought me closer to the vicinity of his groin.

"You are quite simply the sexiest creature I have ever laid hands on, Leah Clearwater. _Sei la mia anima gemella_."

"You're not so bad yourself, Demetri." I ran my hands down his slick chest and deepened the kiss; his hands found my chest and toyed with my nipples. I searched in the water for his erection, and then ran my hands up and down his length, causing Demetri to moan into my mouth.

I lifted myself, and moved into a position where I could slide myself onto him. As I impaled myself on his hardness, he buried his face between my breasts and groaned my name. I slid back up and down tentatively; the position was awkward and the water an issue, but the angle and the atmosphere was intense—I did not want to lose it.

If the moment was broken, there was a chance we might have to talk about what was going on.

Demetri met my gaze with the strangest of expressions frozen in place; he said nothing more than "Leah" or "_la lupa"_. He used his free hands between my legs to devastating effect, and I tumbled over the edge with a whimper.

When I reopened my eyes, he was staring again, and it was really starting to freak me out. Once I regained the power of speech I responded the only way I could—with a snark.

"You should take a picture. It lasts longer."

Demetri smiled. "_Voglio passare il resto della mia vita con te_. But now—round two."

I guessed neither of us was very good at saying what we were really thinking, but when it came to passing on the signals coming from our hormones, we were regular chatterboxes.

~X~

By the time we were both dressed again, we were extremely late, and my hair wasn't as sleek the second time around.

We snuck into the premiere after party without issue, as we certainly looked the part. I had the unusual looks and expensive outfit that helped me pass for a model, and Demetri...well, Demetri rocked a suit.

He looked like a young James Bond, now that his red eyes were hidden behind brown contacts. I told him he would have looked more like Daniel Craig if they had been blue, but Demetri told me that blue contacts would only turn his eyes purple, which would look a little bizarre.

I felt out of place, but I defied anyone to challenge the fact that Demetri looked like he belonged here, in classy surroundings, looking like some kind of actor or rich playboy. Still, we stayed on the fringe of the party and avoided getting too close to the other invited guests. We weren't quite human, but we did a good impression of it from a distance.

My vampire looked at me with artificial brown eyes, and he gave me a smile. My inner core softened instantly, but I hid it with outer hardness and gave attitude that any supermodel would have been proud of. I was sure I wasn't fooling Demetri.

He plied me with drink, so much so that his ploy was obvious, but I made sure I drank as little as possible. After the last time I'd allowed alcohol to loosen my lips, I had become extremely wary of its powers to loosen inhibitions. I couldn't afford to allow another slip like that, and I feared exposing myself to rejection one more time.

Various couples paired up on the dance floor. _Slow dancing—great. Just what love sick werewolves need to help them forget their romantic problems._

Demetri caught me looking and completely misinterpreted me. "Do you want to dance, Leah?"

"No, thanks," I replied. "You'll only use it as an excuse to get your hands on me." I wasn't sure I managed to hide the hurt in my eyes as well as I wanted to. He only wanted to get his hands on me; I wanted so much more.

"Please, Leah." He pouted—I was always a sucker for the pout.

"No funny business, Demetri. I'm not allowing you to paw me in public."

"Spoilsport, but okay." Demetri took my hand and led me onto the floor, putting a chaste hand on my waist, while the other tangled white fingers with my copper. I looked at him suspiciously, waiting for the hand on my waist to drop to my ass, but it never happened.

"I can be a gentleman when I want to be. Don't worry; I will be the perfect dance partner in public. I'm a regular Fred Astaire, don't you know?"

"Really? Actually, I can imagine that. You are very light on your feet; guess you've had plenty of time to practice."

"Exactly, and once upon a time it was the only way to get close to a lady in polite society. Not that I've ever been a member of _polite_ society, of course." Demetri winked at me. "Besides, they say that how a man dances is a reflection of how good he is in bed. Would you agree?"

"I don't know, maybe." I looked away. "You're not this civilized behind closed doors."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing, Leah?" He looked at me with serious brown eyes. Seeing him with coloured contacts made me uneasy, so I looked away again.

"You're fishing for compliments; you know fine well you're good in bed...and the bath."

"That's not what I meant, but it will do." He smiled, but it wasn't convincing. I wondered if the contacts were irritating him. "I know I'm not the easiest vampire to hang around with, but you do enjoy spending time with me, don't you? And I'm _not_ talking about sex before you jump down my throat."

My eyes snapped back to his, and I looked at him, puzzled. "Of course I do. Do you think I'd be here waltzing with you if I hated your guts?"

"Oh, this isn't waltzing. If you want waltzing, I can give you waltzing."

I impolitely declined, in my own unique style. Demetri chuckled at my one-figured gesture.

"I know you find me completely sexually irresistible, that goes without saying, but do you genuinely _like me_? I know I can be manipulative and arrogant—"

"You got that right."

"And that I have some rather negative personality traits—"

"Like the whole 'I _vant_ to drink your blood' thing."

"There is that, too. I like you, Leah, but _this_ is different to anything I'm used to, and I'm trying to figure out what it is, and _why_ it feels so different. Leah, do you _like_ me?"

"Yeah, Demetri, I _like_ you—too much. Stop going all emo on me; you're reminding me of some other vampires I know."

He looked at me, and I stared back nervously. Once bitten, twice shy; I subconsciously expected some new kind of rejection after admitting that I did _like_ him—which was understatement of the year—but instead, he slowly brought his mouth down to mine, briefly and gently, before pulling back.

His eyes twinkled—obviously whatever paranoia he'd been suffering from had passed, and his supreme self-confidence had returned. I opened my mouth to speak, but he silenced me with another brief kiss. "Silence is golden sometimes, Leah. Although, I believe I could get you to tell me anything at this moment in time."

"I doubt it—" I managed to say before he attempted to silence me again. For a second, I thought he was going to get all deep on me, but now he was just being his usual cocky, blood-sucking self.

"Oh, I think I could." Demetri pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, "The question is...what do I make you say? I seem to remember the other night you were so impressed with my sexual prowess that you shouted—"

"Don't even go there, Demetri," I cut him off, feeling awkward and uncomfortable at the direction the conversation was turning.

"Don't be embarrassed, Leah." The unsure look returned again. This vamp was blowing hot and cold on me, and I had no idea what mood he would be on next. Just when I thought I had this vampire all figured out, he'd gone and thrown me one hell of a curveball.

I snorted and tried to pull away, but he held me steady in his stone grip. "Do you think if I tried very, _very _hard I could get you to say that again?"

This time he did not have to keep me quiet with a kiss. I said nothing and scowled while my brain processed his motives.

"Have you forgotten? Should I remind you?" He ground his groin against me to alert me to the fact he was already more than willing to demonstrate. "Or was it just the sex you loved, not me?" The needy look returned to his eyes.

My mouth opened to speak before my brain had time to engage, but I was saved from disaster by an unexpected presence.

"Demetri, _darling_!" It was a female voice, and heavily accented; French, I guessed. "What an _unpleasant_ surprise! It has been _such_ a long time." Her sickly sweet scent filled my nostrils. Vampire.

Both Demetri and I whipped around to find a stick-thin brunette in a particularly revealing, bright red dress. Her face was extraordinarily beautiful, but twisted in a cruel smile. Black-gloved hands were poised on her hips, as brown eyes with grey circles looked me up and down.

Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Bestiality—is nothing beneath you these days?"

TRANSLATIONS

_Sei la mia anima gemella_. – You're my soulmate.

_Voglio passare il resto della mia vita con te._ – I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

If you want an idea of how I picture the French vamp to look, check out Megan Fox at the Jonah Hex premiere. Incidentally, the dress Leah is wearing is the same one as Julia Jones wore at the Jonah Hex premiere—what a coincidence!


	13. Chapter 13 Old Friends

CHAPTER 13 – OLD FRIENDS

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Jerry Springer, eat your heart out!**

**Thanks to my awesome betas, solareclipses and nowforruin, especially for the honest opinion on the first and second drafts. Now with 10% more Rebecca, and a harder time for Demetri.**

**I'm pleased to say that in about a week I should be able to start posting 'The Burning of Lucius Demetrius Flavius,' a companion story to Red Eyes, showing Demetri's history and some of his key moments with the Volturi. And, of course, what is going through his mind regarding Leah. It will take quite a few chapters to reach where Red Eyes begins, (he has been around for quite a while before he met Leah,) but I hope it gives you a bit of insight.**

~X~

_Touch me I'm cold, unable to control,_

_Touch me I'm golden and wild as the wind blows,_

_And tumbling, tumbling, don't go fascination._

_If just for tonight darling, let's get lost._

_If just for tonight darling, let's get lost._

_Let me come closer, I'm not your shadow,_

_With our eyes shielding from the oncoming counts,_

_It's not hard for us to say what we should not._

_If just for tonight darling, let's get lost._

_If just for tonight darling, let's get lost._

Let's Get Lost, Bat For Lashes & Beck

~X~

Demetri smiled. "Rebecca, I was wondering when you might show up. I thought you might have moved on after our last meeting. I hope you are more subtle at mealtimes."

I looked at my lover. He'd said nothing to me about being followed, and I'd not smelled a vampire anywhere near us. If he'd picked something up with his tracking hoodoo, he should have told me. I glared at him, but Demetri kept his eyes on the vamp.

Her eyes narrowed as she gave him a look of pure hate. "People disappear in New York all the time. There has been nothing reported that could possibly warrant your attention, so I assume that you are not here for me."

"I can assure you that I am here for pleasure, not business," Demetri replied. I noticed that though he was used the same polite tone I had come familiar with, he was being frosty with this vampire. They had obviously run across each other before.

"That is what you told me last time, and I remember how that turned out," Rebecca hissed, and her eyes flashed with anger. I speculated about their history and felt a pang of jealousy. I knew the reactions of a woman scorned too well.

"I came here with no intention of running into any old 'friends'. You can continue to go about your business, and I will not bother you—so long as you keep it discreet."

Rebecca laughed coldly. "So long as I abide by Volturi laws, you won't use, abuse and kill me? How very generous of you."

She turned to me and smiled. "I thought consorting with Children of the Moon was against your laws, and that they had been hunted to near extinction. I'm sure Caius would be very interested."

"The Volturi are already aware that I have female company, and they know what she is. It is none of your concern."

"One rule for you, and another rule for the rest of us." Rebecca grinned sadistically. "I assume you are using the same technique you used on Robert and me? Lure them into bed, and then kill them before they have time to get dressed again."

The French vampire addressed me directly. "You might be a dog, but I will warn you. This man is cold; he will use you for his own pleasure, and then kill you in a heartbeat. My mate and I, we hadn't been as covert as we should when we fed. Demetri and his mate came to visit us; they shared our bed, and then, once they were finished with us, they tore my mate apart and burnt him. He will do the same to you. Do not doubt it."

I turned and looked at Demetri; he looked me straight in the eye. "This woman wants vengeance on me for my upholding the law. Believe me when I say her past behaviour gives her no right to lecture me on _my_ morals."

I looked at the vampire female. "You said he had a mate?"

"Yes," the vampire replied, staring viciously at Demetri. "A tall brunette, named...Heidi...if I recall correctly. By your expression, I assume that I am right."

"She is _not_ my mate," Demetri said, his teeth gritted. He looked at me again. "Leah, don't believe a word Rebecca says. She is a vindictive whore out to cause me problems."

The strange female laughed.

"Let me get this straight. A loyal, trusted member of the Volturi is spending time with a werewolf, and I'm sure that the relationship is physical, no? His constant female, vampire companion is not his mate, and the trip is purely for personal reasons—not at all under the instruction of his pompous, self-serving masters, one of whom hates wolves to the point of ordering them to be made extinct. Oh, _please_! Dog, are you really that naive?"

I looked at the two of them, and decided I trusted neither. I suppressed tremors building in my limbs, which did not go unnoticed by either vampire. "Demetri, I think we should leave—now."

"Of course, Leah." Demetri tried to hook his arm through mine, but I shook him off.

Rebecca looked at us with amusement before smirking. "Enjoy the rest of your evening. Play nice."

Demetri walked back to her. I had never seen him look so menacing as he roughly caught her arm and hissed in her ear, "Feel superior now, for the next time you cross my path I _will_ send you to meet your beloved. Goodnight, Rebecca."

He pushed her away, and then followed a few paces behind me as I stormed out. We caught a few glances, but I guessed from the outside it would appear to be nothing more than a lover's quarrel. I walked out of the door of the building and marched into an alley across the road.

As soon we stepped out of view, Demetri grabbed me around the waist, and before I even had time to struggle, we were halfway up a tall building.

He dropped me as soon as we reached the roof. My body was wracked with angry tremors—both over the insinuations made in the earlier conversation, and at the fact he felt that he could just pick me up and carry me away at any time.

"Who the _hell_ do you think you are? I'm no goddamn damsel in distress."

He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at me with desperation in his eyes.

"Leah, don't believe Rebecca. I hoped by now you would think a little more of me than that. She just wants to cause trouble for me. I killed her mate not long after our last meeting—"

"Was that before or after the vampire orgy?"

Demetri looked guilty as sin; his expression gave me all the answers I needed. "I never once claimed to be a paragon of virtue; it was their suggestion. You know I'm an opportunist." He paced and stared at me with pleading eyes.

"Don't I just." I wondered what else there was to forgive other than poor moral character. I felt foolish for thinking he was anything more than the lowest of the low. He was a leech, after all. "Am I just a perk of your mission? Is fucking me another_ opportunity_ for you?" My entire body was moving in spasms, and I only just managed to hold my human form together.

"No, Leah. Not anymore..." He seemed nervous and his eyes kept shifting to the left, as if he was seeing something I couldn't.

A haughty laugh announced the fact that we were no longer on our own, as Rebecca joined us on the roof.

"No, 'not anymore'. Dog, this is the point where he decides you've stopped being a pleasant distraction, and he tears you apart. Or even worse, leaves you behind to pick up the pieces when your soul mate is dead and gone."

She leaned against a metal vent and looked at her nails as she spoke. She wasn't bored; she was loving my reaction, and the glint in her eye was victorious.

"Leah, ignore everything this _pute_ has to say. She's twisting everything in the hope you'll either attack me, or ruin my mission and cause problems with my superiors. Please, you have to believe me."

"The attack would be nice, admittedly. It would be nice to see _you_ torn to pieces by a wolf. I'd even help."

Demetri hissed at her. "_Ferme ta guele, salope!_"

"_Va te faire voir_," Rebecca spat at him, and then turned to me. "He has been using you, trust me. Don't let those pretty ruby reds fool you. Everything that drops out of that pouting mouth of his is a lie."

I stood and looked at them both. I didn't know who to believe: Rebecca, Demetri, or neither. Staring at them both through the red mist clouding my vision, it was impossible to choose who to rage at first.

Demetri was a little more decisive.

"I warned you, but you wouldn't stay away. I've had enough." He moved suddenly in her direction.

My keen shapeshifter vision kept track of their rapid motions, but I didn't have to watch for long. Rebecca defended herself with flailing arms and teeth bared, and Demetri attacked with swift but sure movements. It was obvious who was more experienced in combat. Before two seconds had passed Demetri gripped Rebecca's head in his hands and twisted. By the end of five seconds, four limbs had joined her beheaded torso in a pile.

I couldn't do anything but freeze on the spot, and watch as Demetri executed a fellow vampire. I'd killed vampires, sure, but I wasn't one of them, and there was a deep-rooted supernatural urge in my genes urging me to do so. Demetri had carried out the act as if it was another day at the office. He _was_ cold.

My lover paused, then reached inside his jacket and pulled out a lighter, which he casually dropped onto her body. The vamp immediately burst into flames, and purple smoke drifted away into the night.

I stared at him in horror.

"You just destroyed one of your own kind without a second of hesitation, just because she was giving us attitude."

"Trust me; the world will be no worse of a place without _her_ in it. She has had that coming for centuries." He looked back at me with wide eyes. He didn't look like the beast he'd been only thirty seconds ago.

"You killed her in cold-blood. It sounded like you killed her partner without remorse, too, after_ sleeping_ with both of them. You're sick."

"They were breaking the law, and my orders were to make an example of him and to let her live. That was exactly what happened."

"Did your orders include having a foursome with them first?"

"No, they did not. Leah, I've been on the face of the planet for almost two thousand years. Sometimes things get a little monotonous, and I'm not exactly known for being overly moral when it comes to sexual activities."

"So it's true?" I snarled. Demetri nodded.

"She certainly seemed to have a lot to say about your character. You know what I think? You killed her to stop her from talking, because she was warning me about you. If you're empty and soulless enough to kill a guy after having group sex, then you're cold enough to toy with my feelings and use me, too."

"Leah, you're wrong."

"Am I? You told her that the Volturi are aware that you are with me and what I am. Answer me honestly; what are your orders regarding me?"

Demetri hesitated, and I vibrated with anger while I waited for his response.

"Tell me, and I want the _truth_."

"My orders were to find a wolf that might be open to the idea of returning with me to Volterra."

"And then what if I refused?"

"I was then to find out as much as I could from you, by whatever means possible," Demetri replied, with a look of shame in his eyes.

"So you dragged me across the country, trying to pretend you're interested in me, and fucking me for my secrets. You absolute bastard."

"I never had to pretend that I was interested in you, Leah. I've never purposefully pushed you for information. Any secrets you have let out are entirely of your own accord, and I've fed very little back to Italy."

"Yeah, right," I spat. "You know something else? I think Heidi is more than just your fuck buddy; the bitch seemed to be under the impression she was your mate. I'm beginning to think there's a whole world of things you're keeping from me."

"Heidi is _not_ my _mate_. Leah, this is exactly what Rebecca wanted. She knew you'd be a hot-head—"

"A goddamn hot-head, huh? Well, _here's_ a rash, hot-headed decision for you. I've had enough. I'm tired of being manipulated and used, and I don't want to have to worry about who you are going to kill next. Have a nice afterlife, Demetri. I'm going back home to La Push."

I turned towards the door to the stairwell, but Demetri grabbed my shoulder. "No, I cannot let you."

My rage hit fever point as I felt his icy grip holding me back, and then it bubbled over. I burst into wolf form, turning and snapping at his outstretched hand. He moved so quickly that he was ten feet away in milliseconds.

I snarled and took on an aggressive stance.

"Leah, don't be stupid enough to try and attack me."

I edged towards him tentatively; he was in a crouch and looked ready to defend himself at any second.

"I can't argue with you as a wolf, and you're going to attract attention if you keep growling. Please change back."

I did not. I kept my teeth bared and tensed my muscles, ready to strike.

"Leah, if you try to attack me with any seriousness, I will be forced to defend myself. I can assure you _that_ is not something either of us want to happen."

Goddamn vampire was trying to threaten me into backing down. I growled again, just in case he didn't realise I meant business.

"If you are stupid enough to think that you stand any chance of succeeding, please be aware that I am a vampire trained to be an efficient killer of other supernatural beings, and I played a rather large part in the near wiping out of the traditional werewolves."

I did not react. I had a few kills of my own, and I was used to boys playing games of "mine is bigger than yours."

"If I wanted to, Leah, I am more than capable of killing you—on your own, without the safety of your pack. _Please_, change back." By now his contact lenses had disintegrated, and red eyes bored into my own. He did not look cold and menacing as he had done with Rebecca earlier. He looked desperate.

"I don't want to harm you, Leah. I will if it comes to it, but by hurting you, I would be hurting myself. Change back, and talk to me about it. It's not a trick; it's the truth."

I eyed him warily. I didn't know whether to trust him or not. His past history of lies and manipulation didn't exactly make me very inclined to believe him. He fidgeted and looked uneasy; maybe he wasn't as confident about his extermination skills as he made out, and—

"_La lupa, _I love you."

...

That was unexpected. Time stopped, and I couldn't breathe.

I stared up at him with a million things going racing through my head. _Did he really just say what I think he did?_

I was sure he could hear the thud of my heart in my furry chest. I waited for him to say something—_anything_—else. I couldn't tell whether I felt thrilled or hurt.

He had paralyzed me without coming anywhere near. If this was his tactic, then he was even colder than I'd thought. _Low blow, very low blow._ Part of me wanted to believe him; another part wanted to tear off his extremities and start a bonfire of my own. I went from stunned to furious once more.

Demetri seemed to sense my inner turmoil. "Trust me, this is not how I imagined telling you. The phrase is a rather difficult one to pronounce at the best of times, and I wasn't even sure I _ever_ wanted to admit to it. I had intended to try tonight, but I imagined something a little more romantic and ideally naked."

I glared at him, but stayed motionless.

Eventually, I decided that I needed to ask a few questions, so I phased back. Demetri held out his jacket for me to cover myself.

"I don't believe you. Why leave it until now to say, when I'm about to tear you to shreds?"

"I needed some build-up time. Those three words stand for the end of life, or death, as I know it. I've been young, free and single for the last two thousand years. It's not something I was able to say lightly. Especially when the person I allowed myself to get attached to could meet their soul mate at the drop of a hat, and want nothing more to do with me."

I looked into his eyes, and saw the frantic, pleading look. I'd noticed this needy expression appearing more and more lately. Maybe...

I paused; the urge to rip and tear was subsiding, but I was still unsure. I wanted to take what he had said at face value, but to do that risked causing pain when he retracted his statement.

"Say it again, now that I'm not a wolf, and I _might_ believe you."

"Leah, I am in love with you. You are the centre of my universe, and now I've found you, I doubt anything or anyone else will ever make me feel as happy as I do with _you_. No-one could be as surprised as myself to discover that I wouldn't swap that for all the meaningless and excessive sex in the world. If I had a soul it would be yours—etcetera, etcetera. Is that convincing enough for you?"

Despite the fact he said it with cocky flamboyance, his eyes were unsure of my reaction. He approached me with hands up, but then once he got closer he wound his arms around my shoulders.

I crumbled. If the guy was an actor, he deserved a goddamn Oscar. If he'd told me he was completely and madly in love with me with a heavy dose of saccharin, I would have taken that as another lie. I was too bitter to swallow anything too sweet.

"It'll do, Demetri. Despite you being an evil, murdering, blood-sucking leech, I love you too." My heart pounded as I spoke.

The only natural thing to do at that moment in time was kiss. So we did, for a solid five minutes, until Demetri pulled his mouth away. We stared at each other for a moment before he spoke.

"Do you know what I love most about you, Leah?"

"No, what?"

"Your breasts..." He saw my expression change, and then broke into a smile. "I'm only joking." I continued to eyeball him. "No really. The thing I love most about you is your smile…and your eyes. When I first introduced myself to you, you looked at me as if you wanted to tear me apart—until you started checking me out of course."

I laughed. "Is that true, huh? I did want to tear you apart. I'm glad you caught that; it seems to be a reoccurring theme in our relationship."

Demetri played with the front of his jacket that I was wearing. The only thing I was wearing. "You certainly caught my attention that day. You weren't wearing a bra, and I spent the entire conversation thankful for long, winter coats. We've come a long way since then."

He was looking at me with mushy eyes, and I guessed I should try to say something nice in return. "The thing I love most about you is the way you don't react to me when I'm sniping at you, and you're always so patient."

"Ah, and here was me thinking you loved me because you can't take your eyes off my bum. I was hoping for a little gratuitous objectification."

I laughed, and moved in to kiss him again. He pulled away just before I connected.

"Leah, I love you."

I inhaled his breath, and closed my eyes while my brain processed too many pleasant sensations. "I love you too, Demetri."

His lips finally pressed against mine tenderly. We broke apart slowly, and I was sure my smile was going to split my face in two.

Demetri broke the happy silence. "I do love your breasts, too. Just in case you were wondering."

"My breasts love you back. I have to say I'm fond of your ass; it certainly makes my top ten things that made me fall for you."

"That goes without saying. It's an excellent ass." He kissed me and then pulled away again. "Hotel room?"

"Oh yeah," was my breathless reply.

TRANSLATIONS (FRENCH)

_Pute _- Whore

_Ferme ta guele, salope!_ – Shut your mouth, bitch!

_Va te faire voir._ – Go to hell.


	14. Chapter 14 Sick

CHAPTER 14 - SICK

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks, as always, to TheRainGirl, nowforruin and solareclipses—my awesome betas. **

**I also want to say thank you to my regular readers and reviewers, because I love seeing little review notifications in my inbox. I don't believe in begging for reviews, but to those who leave them—you make my little heart flutter! I will always take time out to respond to all signed reviews—if you guys can take the time to write them, then it's only fair!**

**Just to make you all aware...The Burning of Lucius Demetrius Flavius, the Demetri POV companion story to Red Eyes, is now up on My Vamp Fiction and fanfiction net. There are two chapters there as I write, and hopefully the third will be joining very soon. If Demetri the Roman gladiator intrigued you, then you might enjoy it...**

~X~

_I think I'm drowning, asphyxiating,  
I wanna break the spell that you've created,  
You're something beautiful, a contradiction,  
I wanna play the game, I want the friction,_

_You will be the death of me._

Time is Running Out, Muse

~X~

His mouth found mine once more, and this time it was his turn to pin me to the mattress.

"Again?" I complained, then my eyes were drawn down the naked length of his body. He saw my distraction and grinned.

"Yes." He smiled down at me. "Again, again and again. Then if you're really lucky, again...maybe."

"You'll wear me out," I complained again, smiling widely as I pecked him on the lips, and then proceeded to tangle my limbs around his.

"That's the beauty of it all; you are the perfect blend of natural and supernatural, so you can keep up with an insatiable monster like myself."

"Oh, really? You'll get bored."

"Of this? Never," he said in a serious tone. "I never figured myself for a one she-wolf man, but you have all the advantages of a vampire, with all the benefits of flesh and blood." He jiggled one of my breasts in his hand to emphasise his point. "Vampires don't wobble—a fatal flaw in our design, if you ask me."

"So, you really did fall in love for me because of my boobs?" I lay there and ran my hands down his stone-like back. I would never, ever get bored—though I might need to sleep once in a while. I looked over at the alarm clock beside the bed, and it dawned on me just how many hours we'd been at it.

"No, Leah." His mouth dropped to my chest. "I fell in love with you because of you. The breasts were just the pretty packaging to lure me into looking inside. A rather excellent lure, too." He showed that gift wrapping a little appreciation, and my grin grew even wider.

"So," Demetri mumbled with his head buried in my cleavage, "aren't you going to give me the list of things you love about me again? It's good for my ego."

"The last thing your ego needs is a massage, Demetri," I joked. "But if I must go through the list again—"

"Yes, you must. Consider it foreplay."

I laughed out loud. "Okay then..." I paused as his mouth began a slow journey down my rib cage. "I like your smile...I think you're _pretty_ and you're a lot less dusty than your average two-thousand-year-old."

"That I am...anything else?"

"You're fairly decent in the bedroom," I added.

"And the bathroom—don't forget the bathroom," Demetri murmured as he kissed my hip bone. I tensed in anticipation, and felt disappointed when his trail took a turn down my leg rather than the direction I'd been hoping.

"You have a rather excellent sense of humour for a bloodsucker...and I think I almost have as high an opinion of you as you have of yourself."

"That's quite a feat."

"Isn't it? You have one hell of a sexy voice, and I could listen to you talking about nothing much of interest for hours—which comes in handy."

Demetri chuckled as his mouth began a journey down my calf.

"There's your ass, and you're really considerate and generous. I love the way you accept the fact that I'm incapable of saying anything nice."

"You do say nice things, Leah. They're just wrapped up in little packages of sarcasm."

I looked at him and turned to mush on the inside. He met my gaze and smiled.

"I love you," I breathed. I was still in disbelief that I could say the word out loud, and I wondered if it would ever lose its novelty, or become painful to even think like it had done with Sam.

"I love you, too," Demetri replied and clambered back up the bed until his head was back level with my own, and I was underneath him. "But I think you're getting a little tired now; you're going all soft on me. Maybe I should let you get some sleep?"

"Uh-uh, I'm not tired at all." A yawn betrayed me.

"No, not at all." Demetri kissed me slowly and then went to move off the bed. "Oh well, maybe you can't keep up with me as well as I thought." His voice was filled with amusement, and he paused to give me time to react to his invitation. I could sense his smirk even though he was facing the opposite way.

I grabbed him by his bare shoulder and pulled him back. "You_ know_ I can keep up. Here's a deal. I'll go to sleep if you make it worth my while, _again_."

"Again?" Demetri feigned shock. "You're such a demanding taskmaster. Though, it would be terribly rude not to oblige you." Demetri positioned his body on the bed so that we were like spoons and then began kissing my neck.

I chuckled and leaned back into him. Despite our hours of physical demonstrations of love, he still smelled as if he'd taken a bath in expensive hand cream, and I was pretty sure I was less fragrant. I was disappointed that I couldn't see much of him in this position, but then I could feel his cold, muscular mass pressed close behind me. Despite his temperature and solidity, it felt comfortable and familiar.

I groaned at his attentions before I twisted my head around to kiss him. His hands sought out one of my breasts and then the sensitive spot between my legs; I automatically ground my ass against his erection.

"Do you know something, Leah?"

"No, what?" I was slightly breathless as Demetri had begun kissing my collarbone. It was pretty goddamned nice.

"I think my cock is in love with your pussy."

I giggled. "Is that right?"

"Yes," Demetri whispered, and then turned his attention to my earlobe. "I think you've spoiled other pussy for him. It wouldn't be the same if it wasn't yours; he's never met another one like it."

"You say the most _romantic_ things, Demetri."

"You don't think that is romantic?"

"Not really, but it is hot, so please continue." I twisted round again to kiss him once more.

"And I think your pussy loves my cock, too." Demetri smirked at me.

"You know what?" I ground my ass against him one more time. "You might be right."

Demetri groaned and positioned himself, ready to thrust into me. "Leah, I think you just undid all my self-control." Then he pressed his hips forward, and I gasped as he entered me.

He found a slow, firm yet regular rhythm, and kept a hand entertained at all times with either my breasts or between my legs. It was relaxed, but no less thrilling than our usual positions.

"I've had...a spiritual moment...Leah," Demetri said, as he continued to make love to me. "I've decided...heaven is one...oh eight...point nine...degrees."

I smiled at the compliment. "I thought naughty—_unh_—boys didn't go to heaven?"

"Neither...did I," he breathed into the curve of my neck. "But this...certainly...can't be...burning in hell. It feels...too nice...for that."

"Doesn't it just?"

"_La lupa, ti amo_."

"I...oh...I love you... Oh, _Jesus Christ_!" I reached my climax, and Demetri found his moments after.

We had a few minutes of post-coital silence before Demetri spoke first. "Jesus Christ is the holy guy with the long, dark hair and the beard. I'm Demetri, the hunky, blond vampire who is in love with you. You can't confuse us—after all, I can be a little bad at times." He chuckled at his own joke, and then ran his hand down my spine.

I sniffed with amusement, but I was already drifting off into sleep. "A wuv you too, 'Metri," I mumbled, my voice heavy with sleep.

I felt him press a kiss to my shoulder. "Goodnight, Leah. I love you."

~X~

I had a nightmare.

By falling in love with a vampire and by condoning his new role as a premature grim reaper, I had condemned myself to hell. For my sins and for my betrayal of my wolf roots, I burned. My dream was so vivid that I felt fire on my skin.

It was then that I realised it wasn't my skin burning, but the flames were internal, licking the inside of each of my veins. A sudden rush of intensified pain flowed through my entire body.

I sat up, only half-awake, and waited for a moment for my dream to pass. Instead the burn became more intense. I squirmed, and my eyes sought out Demetri in the dark. I tried to call his name, but all that I heard coming out of my mouth was high-pitched gibberish.

"Leah?" He stood up and came over to the bed. My vision was blurred, and I felt drunk and disorientated. "Are you all right?"

I tried to communicate, but the power of speech was beyond me; I managed a few painful sobs. He put his ice-like hand to my forehead, which was drenched with sweat.

"You don't feel or smell right. Are you in pain?" Demetri looked into my eyes. "Do you have any broken skin, or can you show me where it hurts?"

I tried to shake my head, but I wasn't sure that the gesture came across as I intended. There was no single area that was more or less painful than the rest of me—my entire body was agony.

I panicked.

I was consumed by the sensations I was experiencing. Anything beyond seemed surreal, as if I was watching my surroundings through an old black and white TV with bad reception.

The air felt chilly on my colder than usual, clammy skin, while Demetri fussed over me. Then I rolled over and vomited on the bed.

"Stay here. I'm getting help," a distant voice called to me, as I faded into unconsciousness...

~X~

I felt my body jerk, and I was awake again. I could hear Demetri's voice in the background, but he had begun to speak in gibberish, too. After a few mentally incoherent moments, I realised he was speaking into his cell phone in Italian.

He felt my eyes on him and came over to the bed. "Leah, I am going to have to move you to take you to someone who can help. Please, hold on."

I nodded as best I could, and then tensed as a fresh wall of pain hit my body. It was too much to bear, but I held onto my moment of consciousness while Demetri dressed me.

He scooped me up in his stone-like arms. I tried to ask where he was taking me, but words failed me yet again, and instead of the answer I wanted I got a kiss pressed to my forehead.

Leaving all of our belongings in the room, he carried me through the door and into the elevator.

I couldn't remember reaching reception but the next thing I knew I was laid on cold, pale leather in the back of a car. My head was in Demetri's lap and he ran his fingers through my hair and across my cheekbones.

"I'm getting some help, Leah. Stay with me." The corner of my mouth lifted, and then I was gone again.

~X~

I jolted awake with a sharp intake of breath and sat up.

Demetri was over me with a look of stress on his face, and there was a syringe sticking out of my chest. My heart pounded at an alarming rate. The vampire then began to slowly and carefully pull out the needle that had pierced me.

"A-Adrenaline," he stammered. I looked at him confused, until I saw his eyes were pitch black and focused intently on a small drop of blood dripping down my skin. He looked at it with a face that I could only compare with his expression in moments of extreme ecstasy.

He wanted my blood.

He materialised suddenly at the opposite end of the room, still with the medical implement in his hand. He lifted it up to eye level. His gaze, which until now had not left the red droplet on my breast, shifted suddenly to the tip of the needle. The look of ecstasy returned.

"If you lick that needle, I will tear you apart if it's the last thing I do. My blood is off limits."

The power of speech had returned to me, and although my body was far from capable of carrying out the verbal threat, the sound of my voice snapped my vampire lover out of his red haze.

"Leah! I am unbelievably glad to hear you speak."

I looked around trying to find something to wipe the blood off me; ideally something that could then be quickly disposed of. I was too weak. Although it was now at a lower heat, the painful burn still consumed me.

I was in a large, beige leather chair, and I noticed there were a number of similar chairs about the room. It was clinical, and it looked as though he'd brought me to an expensive doctor's office. The room was white and slightly curved, and an ornate wooden coffee table was laid on thick, cream carpet.

My eyes connected with a rather strange piece of modern art on the wall. For a second it looked like a collection of red and black lines, but on closer inspection it seemed to be a dark figure crouched over a pale naked woman, interspersed with slashes of red. There was a companion piece at the other side of the door. Not the kind of artwork you would associate with a medical establishment. It certainly didn't give the impression of healing.

"What kind of doctor's office is this?"

"It's an aeroplane, Leah. We will be landing in around thirty minutes. I'm taking you home; the doctor and a car will be waiting for us."

I smiled at Demetri. "Thank you."

I felt much better knowing I would have Doctor Cullen looking after me. Even though he was a vampire, he was certainly the greatest authority in the world on shapeshifter anatomy. I'd seen what he'd done for Jake after the battle with the newborns.

Demetri finally approached me with a dark handkerchief he'd retrieved from his pocket. I noted that he'd worn the same outfit that he had been wearing the first day we had met. I guessed that we had left in a rush, although Demetri had picked out something half decent for me. Not that what I wore was much of a consideration for me at this time. It just seemed strange that Demetri had given up his new image.

"I wouldn't thank me too much just yet, Leah. The doctor thinks that you have venom in your bloodstream, and I really don't know how it got in there. I don't remember you having any broken skin." He looked into my eyes with concern. "I wonder if it was while we were having sex, maybe something internal.

"It seems venom isn't quite as fatal as you thought, but you did go into anaphylactic shock. With your metabolism, you have some kind of hyper-reaction while your body fights the change. You won't turn into a vampire, but you certainly seem to feel the pain that goes with the change. I can smell it in your veins still."

I tried to lift my arm to my face to smell, but control hadn't quite returned to my limbs again. I was weak; being used to shapeshifter strength, it was a very unfamiliar sensation.

"Rest, Leah." Demetri came closer to me, wiped the blood off my chest, and then put the cloth inside a clear, plastic bag. "We'll be home soon."

I complied with his request, and dreamed of cool, damp air, the smell of pine and the faces of those I loved. Memories that were the perfect antidote to the dry burn that was devastating my body. I longed for the moment I could fill my lungs with the air of home. Until that moment, I slept.


	15. Chapter 15 Expectancy

CHAPTER 15 - EXPECTANCY

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

~X~

_Sweet dreams are made of this,_

_Who'd have a mind to disagree,_

_I travelled the world and the seven seas,_

_Everybody's looking for something._

Sweet Dreams, Eurythmics

~X~

A waft of air blew on my face, and I slowly moved closer toward consciousness. The pain wasn't gone completely, but it was now a dull ache in my muscles and joints rather than a raging inferno. I was weak, but at least I could now bear to be within my own skin.

My senses returned, but something was _off_; I felt over-sensitized, yet weaker than I had ever been since I first became a wolf, maybe even longer. The sensation felt alien to me.

With my eyes still closed, I could tell that a window was open, but instead of the chilly air of La Push or Forks that I was expecting, the air was hot and dry. The sound of voices and laughter outside was also not familiar, and they weren't speaking English.

It was obvious I wasn't at home; I wasn't at the Cullens' house, and I certainly wasn't in Washington State.

The smell wasn't right either. I took a deep lungful and instantly regretted it. I smelled bleach, sickly vanilla air freshener, pine-scented toilet cleaner, dust, bad drainage, and pizza. Most importantly, I smelled Demetri—the scent was weak, but the fact I could smell him must have meant he had been here recently.

Demetri was not here now, but I was not alone.

I opened my eyes. At the foot of the bed was a middle-aged man with wispy black and grey frizzy hair that gave him the appearance of a mad professor. He smiled at me with a kind-looking, wrinkled face.

"Hello, Leah," he said in an English accent. I felt relieved. "I was wondering when you might come around."

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" I asked warily.

"I'm Doctor Bramley. I know your name because you are my patient. You were brought in by your boyfriend two days ago, and I have been treating you since."

"Two days?" I gasped.

"Yes, that's right. You had a bad reaction to venom in your bloodstream. After a little trial and error, we've stabilised your condition, and I've managed to lessen the effects—"

"Venom in my goddamn bloodstream? Why am I not dead?" I interrupted the doctor.

"I don't doubt that if _pure_ vampire venom got into your bloodstream, Demetri wouldn't have had time to get you to me before it killed you. You are lucky it was a diluted dose—"

"Wait, you're human, right?" I butted in again. "How the hell do you know about vampires and what venom does to me?"

"I am human; you are correct. Hopefully, not for _too_ much longer." He smiled at me. "I was due to be turned after I was finished with the last human patient, so it was a good thing you did not arrive a day or so later. You have the advantage of what I learned through Melanie, too—"

"Who and what is Melanie?" I barked, before I realised this stranger wasn't used to my manner and my constant need to interrupt.

"Poor Melanie was human, like me. Unfortunately, she passed away three days ago when I neglected to send vampires from the room while there was exposed blood..." The doctor went quiet for a moment. "Still, lesson learned—which is why there are no vampires present while I take a blood sample or two to measure your venom levels."

"Wait, why 'vampires' plural? Where the hell am I?"

"You're in Italy, Volterra to be more exact. To be even more precise, you're in the building above the headquarters of the Volturi."

"No goddamn way!" I exclaimed. I looked around the room. It looked old—the walls were painted white, the floor and most of the furniture was made of battered dark wood. I was lying on a black iron bed with white sheets. It looked very basic and worn with time, but sturdy and likely to last many more years. Outside the open full-length window and beyond the balcony, I saw fading sunlight bouncing off yellow stone walls and terracotta tiles.

_Oh yeah, I'm in Italy. Crap._

"What the hell am I doing here?" I was sure my panic would be visible on my face. I tried to move from the bed, but my body felt stiff and refused to comply. My thoughts switched back to Demetri. "He _knew_ I didn't want to come here!"

_Goddamn, manipulative vampire!_ When he'd said "home," I'd assumed _my_ home, not _his_. Weak or not, when I saw him I was going to kill him.

"Stay in bed, Leah. The venom is still making you weak." The doctor came over to me and began laying medical equipment on my bed. I guessed he wanted to take that blood sample. As he messed around with my arm, he spoke to me.

"I'm sure Demetri never meant to go against your wishes; he was in quite a panic. I had to talk him through a few things over the phone before you both arrived in order to keep you alive. I've never had any experience with shape-shifters, but from what Aro was able to find out—"

"_Found out_? Demetri told him?" It was a good thing he hadn't taken my blood pressure at this point; it would have registered through the roof.

"Demetri told me the essentials over the phone in order to treat you. Aro came to visit the night you arrived, read your mind and managed to give me more detail. He assures me that I now know everything you know about the functioning of wolf biology. I have to admit, I'm quite intrigued. It seems your ability to heal rapidly stops the venom from taking hold, but it causes such a reaction that in most cases would be almost certainly fatal..."

I tuned out for a moment while I considered the implications of being here, in the stronghold of my natural enemy, which was also where my vampire lover called "home". I'd also given their leader all the information he could possibly want about my tribe and our ability to shift. I'd betrayed my pack, and a flush of anger and mortification washed over me while I remembered Sam's warnings.

I wasn't worried about being here as part of a Volturi study in wolf anatomy; I suddenly feared that Sam had been right all along about Demetri. Where was Demetri now? Why had he brought me here, and not_ my _home? Would he come and see me soon? Would things change now that we were in Italy? Was this his plan all along?

"...and it appears that Vitamin C—lots of it—seems to repress your histamines and stop you reacting so violently with the venom. If you slip under, then a heavy dose of adrenaline brings you round. I'm quite pleased with myself at how well I managed to put the pieces together."

I looked up at the doctor now that he'd finished taking his samples. He certainly looked pleased with himself. I felt like a lab rat.

"When will Demetri come back?"

"Ah, he will be back at nightfall, I'm sure. He spent all last night here with you while I was sleeping. The vampires don't tend to come above the surface during the day unless they have to—due to the sun. In emergencies, of course, I can always close the windows and curtains, but there's always a risk of exposure, which they prefer not to take."

I looked out the window; the sun must have been low as the shadows were growing up the wall of the building opposite, and the light was growing progressively more orange.

The doctor left me alone with my thoughts, and proceeded to put most of the equipment he had used to take my blood in a metal bin before he set fire to it. "Better safe than sorry."

He grinned at me, and I shuddered.

Once the light outside faded, Doctor Bramley closed the window, just as the door opened and Demetri walked inside. When he saw that I was awake, he beamed widely, and then materialized beside my bed in an instant.

"_Leah_, you're awake." He was dressed in dark grey clothing and looked very much like a member of the Volturi Guard, but his red eyes looked relieved. He might have been dressed differently, but his expression was familiar, and the way he looked at me reassured me that he'd not changed his mind about being in love. Either that, or he was a goddamn good actor.

"You're observant," I said snarkily, but I smiled back. I held back the urge to fling myself around him, but Demetri did not as he hugged me tight. I felt sore.

"If I had known, I would have brought flowers...and possibly grapes." He kissed me chastely on the lips, and then repeated the motion four times.

"I get the hint. You missed me." Half of me wished the doc wasn't here in the room with us, so I could show Demetri exactly how much I'd missed him in the few minutes I'd been conscious. The other half of me wanted to kick his ass.

"Did you miss me too, _la lupa_? You gave me quite a scare."

"I was unconscious. You have to be conscious to miss someone." The look in my eyes told him that maybe I did miss him a little.

"And has the doctor explained everything to you?" Demetri tucked my hair behind my ear. I noticed his expression change from relief to worry.

"I'm in Volterra...diluted venom in my bloodstream...bad reaction...stay in bed...rapid healing prevents venom taking hold...and vitamin C. He told me a few things." Demetri and the doctor quickly looked at each other.

The look of panic on Demetri's face didn't escape me.

"I thought it might sound better coming from you rather than me. I will stay for a few more moments to answer any questions Leah might have," the doctor said to him.

"Questions about what? What's up with me?" I started to panic. I knew venom was pretty much fatal to wolves, but I was still alive. How_ ill_ was I? How much damage could the dose have done to me? Was this permanent?

Demetri looked at me for a moment with a blank expression, but I knew his mind was whirring behind his calm exterior. After a second or two he held my hand and began. "Leah, prepare yourself. This might come as a bit of a shock, and I'm not sure how best to phrase this...but..."

"Demetri—just spit it out."

"Leah, you're pregnant."

I looked at him, then the doctor, and then back to Demetri. My brow furrowed as I wondered whether I had just heard correctly.

"I'm _pregnant_?"

"Yes, Leah. You're having a baby," the doctor confirmed. "Congratulations."

I looked left and then right, and my frown deepened. "No goddamn way can I be pregnant. You're joking, right?"

No-one laughed.

Demetri looked me in my eyes and rubbed my hand. "Leah, you're _definitely _pregnant." His hand moved over and touched my stomach. I flinched as I realised it was swollen and round—not my usual washboard.

"_Holy crap_! What's that?" Neither man nor vampire answered my question, and they allowed me a little silence to let the information sink in. "I'm not pregnant. I _can't_ be. I haven't had a period in years!"

The doctor approached me. "I have a theory about that. The physical evidence of a woman's menstrual cycle occurs when the lining of the womb disintegrates and exits the vagina. As a shapeshifter, I wonder whether your healing power means that the womb does not disintegrate, yet you still have a normal cycle. Certainly, it seems that you are _definitely_ fertile. You have not had intercourse since you first changed other than with Demetri, is that correct?"

I felt awkward. "Yeah, that's right." I gave Demetri a shifty look, and he gave me a smug grin in return.

"I have plenty of things I want to discuss with you, Leah. This is certainly very new and exciting for me, but I'm sure that you and the father have many things you want to talk about first. I will see you at sunrise. Please excuse me; I have a dinner date with the lovely Samantha."

The doctor left the room, and once the door clicked behind him, Demetri kissed me with passion until I became breathless. I was so stunned that I forgot he was due an ass-kicking and so I let him.

"Leah..." Words seemed to fail him.

"_Pregnant_," was all I could say in return. I'd spent many sleepless nights mourning my lack of fertility and other lost possibilities for the future; now it seemed that it had all been without cause.

On one hand I was pleased to be wrong, but then I also realized that I was pregnant by a vampire I had known for about a month, and we had only admitted to being in love twenty-four hours before I'd lost consciousness. Add to that the fact that I was in a room directly above the last place on earth a wolf could possibly want to be; it was pretty certain that I was in a heap of trouble.

Demetri, however, looked at me like he'd just won the jackpot. His enthusiasm threw me.

"I don't know what you're grinning at. You got me knocked up."

Demetri laughed. "It was great fun getting you that way, too." His face then became suddenly serious. "Leah, I love you, and we're having a _baby_! Not just any baby, the mostunique half-breed on the planet. There won't be another family like us anywhere in the world!"

The thought of _what_ was growing in my belly hit me then. I was giving birth to no ordinary child, it was a monster. I'd seen a lot of Nessie Cullen through Jake's mind and I had to admit that apart from the play-biting, which turned my stomach, she wasn't a monster. But then _she_ was half-human. Who knew what _this_ baby would pick up from my wolf genes. I was giving birth to a damned weapon of mass-destruction—

Another thought hit me. Maybe this had been about more than just learning about shape-shifters; female vampires couldn't breed—apparently she-wolves could...

"We've brewed a goddamn half-vampire, half-shapeshifter baby! I hate to think what kind of mutant spawn we've created. What have you done to me? Half me and half-vampire—do you have any idea how evil she is gonna be?"

"Actually, we think it's a he. From what we know of half-human hybrids, boys are venomous and girls aren't. Of course, this being an entirely new species we've created, we're not really sure what to expect."

"Oh great. The mother of a new species. Hey, maybe he'll be able to turn into a bat instead of a wolf. And how come you're so enthusiastic? You didn't strike me as the settling down type." His attitude to my pregnancy was doubling my suspicion.

"It's unplanned, admittedly. I went to catch a wolf, and I came back with a mate and a baby on the way." He winked at me. "He'll be physically perfect, I am sure. He's bound to be good looking, at the very least. I have good genes, and yours are perfection itself. There will be some _difficulties_, I'm sure, but we will certainly have lots of support, and obviously finances won't be an issue like it is for some young couples."

I snorted. "Young couples..._support_...you make it sound like we're normal human beings. We're not! We're a goddamn vampire and wolf who have been getting jiggy and had a _big_ accident. The main issue here will be how much death and destruction Junior causes, not which goddamn grandparent buys the stroller!"

"Aro has already arranged to have a cot made. It seemed wise, considering we don't really have much of an idea of how pregnant you are, or how long it will take before he arrives."

I stared at him in incredulity.

Uncle Aro was a little too keen in my opinion, and vampire or not, I was sure my mom wouldn't want anyone muscling in on providing for her first grandchild. She might not have been a shapeshifter, but I knew from experience that she could be pretty scary.

"It's okay _you_ being happy about the prospect. Have you any idea what a half-vampire baby birth is _like_? There is no way in _hell_ you're giving me an oral caesarean."

"Oh Leah, as if I would. That's disgusting." Demetri pulled a face. "We have come up with a much less stomach-turning method; werewolf teeth can cut through the..." Demetri gestured in the direction of my bloated abdomen. "They do not actually need to be in a werewolf at the time. Think of it as a makeshift scalpel made from tooth-fairy leftovers."

Demetri saw my expression change. I was sure that werewolves didn't leave their spare teeth under pillows to be collected. "Souvenirs, Leah. From _traditional_ werewolves many centuries before I met you."

I scowled, but deep down I was glad he wasn't going to have to chew the baby out. "It's still going to hurt. Half-human hybrids like to kick out a rib or two before they decide to make an appearance. I hate to think what a half-_wolf_ baby will do."

"It will be fine, Leah. You have an advantage that humans do not—you can heal rapidly. We do not foresee any problems with you not surviving the birth."

"Oh, I'm so _pleased_ the odds of survival are in my favour. Just when I try to breast feed and Junior decides to eat me alive..."

"Leah." Demetri looked at me. "You're not happy at all about the prospect of having my baby?" He had the needy look he'd had in his eyes the night he had told me he loved me.

"It's not that I'm not_ happy_. I wanted kids eventually, but in my mind I at least wanted to be in a stable relationship. I've known you for a month, Demetri, and it hasn't exactly been the most idyllic of months, either. When I pictured having kids, it wasn't unplanned, with an almost stranger, _or evil incarnate_."

He looked hurt, but then cupped my face with his cold palm. "Sorry, I forget that you've only just woken up and been hit with a bombshell. It will work out fine, I'm sure." Demetri's face broke into a smile, and he looked more like the vampire I knew and loved. "How do you feel, _mummy-to-be_? Are you comfortable?"

I rolled my eyes at my new title. Somehow, it didn't seem to fit. It seemed there was little doubt about the fact that I was going to become a mom, and for the first time I _felt_ pregnant. "Now I think about it, I'm pretty hungry and thirsty. I don't suppose you keep anything other than O-negative on tap around here, huh?"

"On the contrary, you do have some human company in the building. Doctor Bramley and Samantha, the receptionist; they will have supplies. Name what you want, and someone will get it for you. I hear Italian food is rather nice for humans. Do you want me to get you a menu?"

I gave him a look and then thought hard about what I wanted. I remembered Bella's diet of choice with a shudder, and I was glad that the thought of microwaved blood in a sippy cup made me want to hurl. I swallowed, and it struck me that I wanted something intensely.

"_Oranges_. I want lots and lots of oranges. Oh, and fresh orange juice to drink, too."

I guessed that I had just had my first craving.

I was having a goddamn monster baby.


	16. Chapter 16 Warm Welcomes

CHAPTER 16 – WARM WELCOMES

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks to all my betas for their usual all-round awesomeness. Special mentions this chapters for "leech infestations" and "man-bags." This is why I love you guys! **** Bit of a big chapter for me this time, and your help is much appreciated!**

**Adoring all the lovely reviews I've been left lately—thanks guys..."I love this like a fat kid loves cake.";)**

~X~

_I want to be where the sun warms the sky,_

_When it's time for siesta you can watch them go by,_

_Beautiful faces, no cares in this world,_

_Where a girl loves a boy and a boy loves a girl._

La Isla Bonita, Madonna

~X~

I tried to stay awake all night while Demetri was able to stay with me. I managed until around four or five in the morning, when my fatigue became too much for my weakened body.

As I slept, my subconscious took me back to another place and time when werewolves and vampires only existed in stories, and imprinting was leaving footprints in wet sand as I walked along First Beach, hand-in-hand with Sam.

When I woke it was light, and I could hear the doctor singing to himself from the direction of my en-suite bathroom. His off-key serenade wasn't exactly welcome, but I let him get on with it and blocked him out by drowning inside the memories my dream had inspired.

Back then, when I was with Sam, it was perfectly acceptable to think about marrying the man I loved, settling into a life in La Push, and having a couple of babies. Maybe it had been wrong for me to not want to go out into the big wide world and make a name for myself, but my simple dream had made me happy.

Sam had shared my idea of a perfect life, and things had seemed to be going in the right direction to making that dream a reality. How wrong I had been. My life had gotten so fucked up and weird that something that _normal_ was just a pipedream.

These days, supernatural creatures were reality and a run of the mill life, with a blue-collar husband and two-point-four-kids, was the fairytale.

I had wanted love and a family, and I'd stumbled upon both in the most unlikely of places. I'd never imagined that I would settle down forever with a vampire, and if I'd thought for a second that I could get pregnant, I _would_ have taken precautions.

You had to be careful what you wished for, because sometimes you got it. _Is this what I really want?_ I got the feeling this wasn't going to be a simple "happily ever after" for me.

If Demetri was genuine and wanted us to be a family with our adorable, little devil spawn, then how was that going to work? I'd been given medical care and a place to stay by the Volturi, and Demetri seemed quite happy here. But would we be allowed to go back to La Push if I decided that was what I wanted? If I did want to go back home, would Demetri come with me?

I fell back to sleep; my subconscious thoughts turned dark, and I dreamed of giving birth to a monster who hissed instead of cried. As I writhed in pain, I was surrounded by a number of cloaked and menacing looking vampires in the middle of a familiar-looking clearing. I could see my mom, Seth, and most of the wolf-pack hanging around by the trees. When I looked back at them, the vampires were taking my red-eyed, fanged baby away from me and I was left paralyzed, broken and abandoned where I lay.

I woke up a little shaken from my dream to the sound of people going about their business outside and the doctor pottering around the room.

"Good morning, Leah," he greeted me. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not really—bad dreams."

"How do you feel this morning? You certainly seem to have grown overnight!" I looked down at my stomach and realised he was correct. There was no doubting that I was now with child. I felt a fluttering in my stomach, and I shuddered as I remembered my dream

The doctor came over and measured the size of my stomach. "He seems to be developing very quickly—much quicker than Felicia, who I'm sure you'll meet soon. This is probably a combination of vampire rapid growth, amplified by your shapeshifter age-acceleration effect. I wonder how early the wolf gene can be triggered? I guess you don't really get in much closer proximity to vampires than we are now." The doctor laughed. I did not join in. "I would definitely make the most of the baby stage, as I don't think it will last long."

I nervously touched my own stomach. "How far on do you think I am?"

"Well, we can't scan you, but an educated guess would put you at around fourteen to seventeen weeks in developmental terms. As we have no idea exactly when you conceived I can't really give you an accurate idea of how pregnant you are in real terms, or how long until the birth. I'm afraid a lot of this is going to be guess work."

"_Great_. Can I get up?" I asked him.

"Well, how are you feeling today? If you are able to get up now, it is probably best that you do it while you can. As I'm sure you are aware, baby has a habit of breaking bones if moved or jolted once he or she gets a little short on space. I know you're not entirely human, and you will heal quickly, but I can't imagine it's pleasant. Make the most of your mobility while you are still strong enough."

I sat up tentatively, and my head swam. I still felt weak, but I was determined I wasn't going to be confined to my bed by a little venom in my bloodstream or the half-vampire in my belly.

As I sat up, I noticed my nightwear for the first time. I was wearing a maroon silk night shirt. I didn't take the opportunity to check my panties but I could tell they weren't a pair I was familiar with. I wasn't wearing a bra and my breasts felt heavy and tender.

I hoped that Demetri had been the one to undress me. I vaguely remembered being covered in vomit before I had left the hotel room in New York. Someone had cleaned me up, and I guessed that meant a bed bath. I really hoped Demetri had been the one to do that, too.

I edged off the bed, shuffled with stiff legs towards the window, and opened it. Warmth hit my skin, and I took in my first sight of a country outside of the USA.

"Hey, I don't have a passport. How did Demetri get me to Italy?"

The doctor chuckled. "I don't think the Volturi pay much attention to human immigration laws. They have their own private jet, flown by a vampire with a talent for keeping large metal objects off the radar. That's how they brought me here. I practiced in London until Heidi appeared on my doorstep. Of course, I was unable to do anything but follow her to the airport."

The doctor beamed at me. The question that was begging to be asked was about Heidi, but instead I asked, "Why are you here? I'm sure they didn't show up at your house for your happiness and well-being."

The doctor laughed again. His cheerfulness was beginning to get on my nerves. "The Volturi never do anything unless it has a purpose and furthers their aims. I'm a former paediatrician who moved into genetic research, and I also have an interest in the supernatural. That recommended me, I suppose. They needed someone with experience in human childbirth, with a little extra knowledge about genetics, and who wouldn't complain about being around vampires. It's such a shame I didn't know enough to save Melanie. She was such a lovely girl..."

Doctor Bramley went quiet, but I didn't leave him alone with his thoughts for long. I remembered his comments last night and something dawned on me.

"Am I right in thinking that Melanie, the human, gave birth to a half-breed baby? And she didn't survive?" My suspicion meter was now registering off the scale. I'd like to think it was a co-incidence, but I wasn't naive enough to think that two accidents could happen in such a short space of time.

But didn't everyone think that she-wolves couldn't reproduce until _this_ happened? My head and my heart started debating the issue. The doc answered me before I could go too in-depth.

"Yes, that's right. I don't mean to scare you, but you _have _witnessed a hybrid birth second hand, so you have some idea of what you're letting yourself in for. It was bad enough to see the birth itself, but..." The doctor shook his head at an unspeakable memory. "I almost changed my mind about being turned after that. I'm sorry, but the father will not be allowed in the room until we've thoroughly cleaned up after the birth."

I looked at him, stunned for a moment. It was one thing to know that my half-vampire baby was going to go all _Aliens_ on me and fight its way out, but to hear your doctor confirm it was another. I decided ignorance was bliss and didn't ask any more questions. I chose to wander out onto the balcony instead.

Italy was a different country, that was for sure; it was nothing like the U.S. Across the way was a yellow stone walled building, with a tiled roof that was about the same level as the balcony I now stood on. The streets were cobbled and narrow. I looked around and saw that although the same yellow stone was used for each building; not one was the same as the next. Not only were the buildings like terracotta steps, but the streets themselves were on quite an incline. It looked very medieval. Maybe it was...

People walked the streets below me, and I felt a little caged. I turned to the doctor.

"Can I go out? I've never seen Italy before." _Will I be allowed out, or am I really a prisoner here?_

The doctor thought about it a little. "Well, I can't see any reason why not medically, but I shall check first." He went to the wall where a small phone, yellowed with age, was hung on the wall. He lifted it and pressed a number. "Hello, Samantha. Please can you put me through to Aro. Thank you, dear."

He paused a while, and I tried to calm my indignation that I needed permission from a vampire to go explore.

"Hello, Aro...yes I'm quite well, thank you. The she-wolf wants to go out and explore...I think she means during the day...No, I can't see that there will be any risk to the baby...She's still a little weak...Okay, we will see you very soon." He hung the phone on the receiver and turned to me.

"Please close the window and the curtains, Leah. We're expecting visitors."

I did as he asked and a few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Doctor Bramley opened it with a bow, and two cloaked shapes stepped inside.

I knew one was Demetri, I could smell his familiar scent. I could not place the sickly sweet, musty smell of the other. They both pulled their hoods back and Demetri smiled at me as he stood slightly behind the other unfamiliar vampire.

"Hello, Leah," the strange bloodsucker said with a surprisingly soft voice. He grinned widely and it freaked me out, especially when I remembered that last time we'd met, he and his band of not-so-merry men had been set on annihilating the Cullens. He looked like some stereotypical image of Dracula and had a slightly deranged look in his eyes. "I'm Aro. Forgive the formal introduction. We've met before, in one form or another, albeit under much less _joyous_ circumstances."

"Yeah, hi," I replied. "Er...thanks for letting me stay here." I couldn't help but notice how Demetri and the doc acted around him, like he was royalty. I guessed I'd best try to be polite.

"The pleasure is all ours, I assure you," Aro said as he walked over to me and held his hand out. "May I?"

_Oh right, he's a mind reader._ I guessed he wanted inside my head. I hesitated, and Aro looked at Demetri.

"Leah, please," Demetri said with pleading eyes. "You won't give away anything more than what has happened since you arrived."

I was reminded that I'd already given away everything worth knowing about my pack while I was unconscious. I took a deep breath and gave my copper hand up to him. He took it delicately and stared into my eyes. I tried not to scowl too much as he invaded my mind.

"Of course you will be able to leave, Leah. Whenever you choose. Obviously, at the moment it is highly inadvisable until you've had your baby. And may I say how very _excited_ we are about your impending arrival."

_Yeah, I bet,_ I thought. Then I realised he was still holding my hand and had probably heard that. It was the pack mind all over again.

Aro chuckled to himself. "Oh yes, the pack mind. It is so wonderful to know and understand more about your kind. Do not worry, Leah. I hope this is the beginning of greater co-operation between your kind and mine. Not all of us are quite so keen, but I think peace between us could be very _advantageous_."

I looked at him dubiously.

Aro dropped my hand and laughed. He turned to Demetri. "You always did enjoy a challenge. I never thought I'd see the day_ you_ would be tamed by a she-wolf."

Aro turned around to face me again with a swish of his cloak. "Leah, you are free to explore Volterra. Please take Doctor Bramley and Samantha with you. I wouldn't want to leave you without medical assistance or a translator. This is not a prison; you are a most _welcome_ guest."

"Thanks." I did mean it, but it came out a little sharp.

"There is a phone on the wall, should you wish to ring home. Of course, international numbers are barred, so you will have to ring down to reception to get Samantha to put you through. I'm sure your family will be _thrilled_ by your news. Although, I hope when the time comes you would choose to stay here in Volterra with us, so Demetri can continue with his vital work.

"After all, you will want to devote your time to being a mother I'm sure and 'henchman work pays well.'" Aro laughed at Demetri's old joke, and I wondered what other moments he'd plucked out of our minds. "You, too, of course would be welcome to join the guard once your child is a little older. A perfect situation for a young, supernatural family. I look forward to welcoming your son into the world very soon."

He inclined his head, and the doctor bowed in return. Aro replaced his hood, and I stole a glimpse of Demetri before he also covered his head. He winked, and then followed Aro as he exited the room.

_So that was it, huh?_ No "I love you," or even a quick "I will see you later, dear."

I fumed about how everyone seemed to hang on every word that came out of Aro's mouth, and when the creepy vamp said "jump" they all complied without question. Maybe I was missing something, but to me it seemed the leader of the Volturi's mind had left for Neverland a _long_ time ago.

"Give us twenty minutes, Leah," the doctor said to me. "I will organise Samantha, and we'll take you on a tour of beautiful Volterra. We will get a spot of lunch while we are out. I know just the place."

"Thanks," I replied and I shuffled back over to the bed, unsure how far I would be able to walk in my weakened state. I decided to rest, and I closed my eyes until my babysitters were ready.

~X~

Four hours later, we returned to the building owned by the Volturi.

Samantha was an English girl who was also fluent in Italian. She was very pleasant and full of easy conversation, as was Doctor Bramley. I was uncharacteristically quiet.

We'd gone to a small restaurant, where I had made a complete pig of myself. The owner had commented on my appetite and pointed towards my stomach, speaking in Italian. Samantha had replied on my behalf. Apparently, I'd gotten all three helpings of _gelato_ for free, just for being with child.

Italian ice-cream was something else. The language wasn't the only thing about Italy that could make me go weak at the knees.

We'd wandered around the streets; Samantha pointed out certain buildings and gave me a history of who had lived there and what kind of religious festival happened on a certain date. I didn't take a lot in, as after a while I'd become unbelievably tired. The doctor and the receptionist sat me down at a cafe in the square, and I'd had an orange juice and a cake while I watched the fountain.

I decided Italy wasn't so bad, apart from the leech infestation. Maybe I could stay here...

Surprisingly, I was pleased to return to my room above the Volturi headquarters. I guessed when you were tired, any bed was welcoming. Once back in my room I crawled into my bed, exhausted. I felt frustrated at the lack of strength in my body and realised how little I had appreciated my wolf agility when I'd had it.

I wondered how the people of Volterra were so unaware of what lay underground, but quietly it was explained to me that the residents of this town were probably the safest in the world when it came to vampire attack. No human within the city walls was to be touched, unless, of course, they were out of sight and underground, and you only got _there_ by personal invitation. The people of Volterra lived in blissful ignorance of the horror their town concealed.

It became dark, and Demetri returned. My pregnancy hormones went nuts, and I didn't know if I wanted to kiss him, kill him or cry my eyes out. Demetri seemed a little unsure what to do other than hand me a large bag full of oranges. That silenced the unfamiliar hormones running through my veins almost immediately.

Oranges made me very happy. They also kept me quiet while I ate them.

Demetri perched himself on my bed and stroked my hair. "Do you mind entertaining another visitor? My friend Felix has just become a father to a half-breed baby, and I thought it would help if you spent a little time with a hybrid. They're not monsters."

I was a little hesitant; my hands dropped to my stomach protectively for the first time as I worried. I remembered that Nessie had a habit of biting Jake, and I had no urge to become a flesh and blood teething ring. Somehow, Demetri manipulated me into agreeing.

I remembered Felix from the field where the non-battle had taken place. It was weird seeing him as a sentient being rather than a sizeable threat. He was obviously a very proud father as he talked to his daughter, Felicia, in baby nonsense.

It was cute to see the intimidating giant be like that. _Weird_...but cute.

His not-so-tiny daughter was adorable. She had blue eyes, light brown hair, and was far more aware than any baby less than a week old should be.

Felix placed her in my hesitant arms, and baby Felicia gripped one of my fingers tight, while the other hand covered her face. I almost choked when her tiny mouth opened and she said, "Stinky."

I glared at Demetri. "I smell like 'nature,' huh?"

Felix roared with laughter. "Don't worry. At least she doesn't think of you as food. I doubt she would want to bite you."

Demetri grinned sheepishly, as his flattery became apparent. "Sorry. I can't remember the last time I noticed."

As I looked down at Felicia, something in me softened a little. I knew she was unnatural, and the way her tiny eyes processed me was strange, but she didn't seem evil. I'd always kept my distance from Nessie, thinking she was more vamp than child, but close-up hybrid babies seemed pretty human and less freakish. It surprised me too, that Demetri's huge vampire comrade could fit into the role of single parent so well.

"So, why Felicia?" I asked "It's an unusual name for a little girl."

"My name is Felix. Back when I was human, it was usual for a daughter to take a female version of her father's name, hence Felicia."

"Oh, right." I turned to Demetri. "If it's a girl, there's no way in hell we're calling her Demetria."

Felix grinned at Demetri.

Demetri looked a little annoyed. "It's a boy."

"How can you be so sure? It could be a venomous wolf-girl." My eyes narrowed.

"She's right. You should never argue with a woman." Felix's smirk did not escape my attention. He came over and started dangling some irritating, musical child's toy in front of Felicia, who promptly tore it to pieces. A girl after my own heart, obviously.

Eventually, she got a little restless, and Felix took her off me. "Is Daddy's little girl hungry?"

I snickered while I watched the manly vampire rummage through his not-so-manly bag, pulling out headless stuffed toys and pink bibs.

My amusement ended abruptly when he pulled out a bottle warmer and a baby bottle containing red liquid. I felt the hormones inside me start to rage, as I knew fine well what that substance was. Human blood.

Demetri saw my reaction. "Felix, I think it may be best if you don't feed Felicia in front of Leah."

Felix looked up in confusion before it dawned on him. My very purpose was to prevent vampires from killing humans, and I doubted that the blood in the bottle had come from a willing volunteer. He apologised and quickly left the room, while Felicia made grabs for the bottle in his hand.

My stomach heaved.

Demetri saw my involuntary reaction and materialized in front of me with a bowl. I felt a wash of shame flow over me as I emptied my lunch into the receptacle.

Once I was done, I laid back on my bed with bloodshot eyes and a burning throat. Demetri poured me a glass of bottled water and brought it over.

"I feel like hell."

"Well, you don't look it." He smiled at me, and offered me a paper napkin to wipe my face. "I think you look very sexy with my child inside you and extra large breasts..."

I snorted in indignation.

"Have you warmed to the idea any? Are you looking forward to our baby yet?" He ran his fingers through my hair while I thought.

I looked down and saw my arms had subconsciously wrapped themselves around my stomach. I felt a strange brush against my skin from the inside and gasped. Junior had moved on from fluttering pretty quick, that was sure.

"What?" Demetri asked.

"I can feel him moving."

"Really? Can I feel?" Demetri put his head closer to my belly and splayed his cold palm on my stretched skin. "Hello, Lucius. I'm your daddy. You're going to get your looks from me and, hopefully, your attitude, because your mother can be a little wild at times."

"_What_?" I yelled suddenly. The baby in my stomach reacted by brushing against me again.

Demetri laughed as he felt the baby move. "I'm joking, Leah. I like your attitude, but it might be difficult to manage in a baby."

"Not that. You've given him _a name_ without me?"

Demetri gave me his full attention and looked confused. "Sorry, just a slip. Quite surprising, really, as his mother would never let me within five feet of her while she was pregnant. I would never have gotten the chance to do _this_. She didn't like me."

My temper calmed as curiosity got the better of me. "Tell me a little more about Lucius, your human baby."

Demetri got a wistful look in his eyes as he began. "Please don't judge me, but I wasn't the world's greatest father the first time around. I wasn't allowed near his mother the second she found out she was with child, and I never really bonded. Once he was born, he was just another thing to brag about and a reassurance that my line would continue." Demetri's mouth formed a straight, hard line.

"It wasn't until after he died that I realised how bad a father I'd been. I just wish I'd made more effort." Demetri looked me straight in the eyes. "This time I will be a _much_ better father. I'll make sure I look after you both. Not that a she-wolf and a half-vampire, half-wolf baby should need much in the way of protection, of course. We make one indestructible little family."

I smiled at him. My chest felt almost painful for a moment as I looked at him with his head so close to my bump. A band of resistance inside me snapped.

I was having a goddamn baby with my vampire boyfriend. I was in love. I was loved in return, and we were going to be a family. I didn't give a damn whether my baby was more vampire than wolf. What I was seeing now was that vampires could be surprisingly human.

My Demetri wasn't a monster, and neither would my baby be. I just hoped he didn't get my temper, and I'd be damned before I let him follow his father's diet of human blood. This kid would be a vegetarian from birth, no _doubt_ about it.

Demetri rushed out of the room and came back thirty seconds later with a laptop. "Right, let's do some baby shopping. Feel free to get extravagant—money isn't an issue. We need everything a one in sixty billion child could ever possibly need."

The sight of Demetri trawling through baby supply websites made me laugh. I refused when he tried to convince me to buy a buggy with a five figure price tag, despite his assurances that the price was in Euros, not dollars. I looked at him dubiously; I wasn't up on exchange rates but I wasn't completely stupid. There was no goddamn way we were spending silly money on something that was probably going to get destroyed within a week.

_Do monsters even need strollers anyway?_

I wondered whether someone had ever been insightful enough to design a child seat or some kind of saddle for riding really big wolves. I laughed at my own ridiculous idea, and made a note to call and claim the patent if not. It seemed there were big bucks to be made during this supernatural baby boom, with vampires flinging sums of money around that would keep a roof over my mom and my brother for years.

I felt a pang of homesickness, and looked forward to calling home again. Samantha had told me there was no answer at home when she'd tried earlier. I calculated the time difference and wondered where they were.

I decided to ask Demetri a little about Samantha and Doctor Bramley. Despite their irritating _niceness_, I had warmed to them, and I found it unbelievable that they chose to work with their greatest natural predator, whether or not Volterra was the safest town in the world for humans.

Demetri looked me in the eye. "You'd be surprised how many human volunteers we find. Sometimes they get turned; more often they don't."

"Don't they ask any questions? Do they just accept your diet?" He knew my opinion on what he drank, and I couldn't hide my obvious _disgust_ that humans themselves didn't mind.

"Occasionally, but they all think that somehow for them it will be different."

"What a bunch of idiots. Why would they volunteer to become food?"

"It's the romance of it all. After all, we vampires are very sexy and compelling. Who wouldn't want to hang around with us, despite the risks?" Demetri winked at me, and I smiled inside for a half second before I thought deeper.

_Was I one of those idiots? No, I was different; I am one of a kind, and he _loves _me_.

Once we'd spent a ridiculous amount of money, I brought up the subject of names again.

"There's no way we're giving him a mouthful like Lucius Demetrius Whateveritwas, but I don't mind giving him Lucius as a middle name. We have to think that whatever name we give him, he's going to be saddled with it for eternity, _literally_."

"It would be nice to give him a name with a bit of meaning. Something that will be timeless, too. You'd be surprised how quickly fashionable names get dated."

I agreed, and then I got an idea in my head. "Do you mind if I name Junior after my dad?"

"What is your dad's name?" Demetri replied.

"My dad's name was Harry." My lover registered the sad look in my eyes. "Do you mind if we call him Harry Lucius?"

Demetri looked at me for a moment while he considered my suggestion. "Harry Lucius Clearwater...I can live with that." He put the laptop down and climbed up on the bed next to me, giving me an icy hug.

"I love you, Leah," he whispered before he kissed me. I felt a sudden rush of lust and tried to twist myself closer to him, but my stomach got in the way. He pulled back. "Please will you stop getting aroused _every_ time I kiss you. _Always_ trying to have sex with me. You're an insatiable fiend!"

I raised an eyebrow, and then I frowned in frustration.

Exactly how long did it take to grow a hybrid baby, anyway?

~X~

TRANSLATIONS:

_Gelato_ – Ice Cream

~X~

**SPECIAL NOTE:**

**I JUST WANT TO SAY A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO CAMILLA (CAMILLA10 ON FANFICTION NET). **

**You can find her amongst my reviews—check out her story 'The Parachutist,' which is also a nominee in another category. She has also helped me a lot with my Italian language and grammar.**

**I'm trying not to make this look like a shameless plug (hence putting this at the end not the beginning) but Camilla nominated me for 'Most Original Story' in the Hidden Star Awards. I'm very grateful...I could pick you up and hug you!**

**I'm pretty intimidated by the competition, but that you thought to nominate me is more than enough to put a huge smile on my face for the rest of the year. Thank you **


	17. Chapter 17 Love the Way You Lie

CHAPTER 17 – LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**As always, thanks to nowforruin, solareclipses and TheRainGirl for helping me make look good. I will get lay/laid/lie into my head sooner or later, I hope!**

**Voting for the first round of the Hidden Star Awards has begun. The second round is due later this week, which includes the category Red Eyes is nominated for. There are some really good stories nominated. It's nice to see some small time fics getting the attention they deserve, and I will be voting for one of my faves "After the Rain" by WolvesCanEatMe.  
**

~X~

_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn,_

_But that's alright because I like the way it hurts._

_Just gonna stand there and hear me cry,_

_Well that's alright because I love the way you lie,_

_I love the way you lie._

Love the Way You Lie, Eminem & Rihanna

~X~

I opened my eyes, and a cloaked Demetri was at the bottom of my bed, smiling at me.

"Hi," I whispered huskily. A dark shape to the right of me caught my attention, and I whipped around to see a pile of dark fabric on the chair. When I turned back, an uncloaked Demetri was above me, pinning me to the bed.

"Hello," he growled. He stared at me without blinking with his self-satisfied smirk in place. Something felt off, but I wasn't sure what.

To end the awkward moment, I lifted my mouth to his in a kiss. He responded, and the force with which he kissed me back pushed my head back down onto the pillow. Now _this_ was more like it. My hormones had been driving me crazy of late, and I couldn't remember the last time we'd gotten this passionate.

My hands roamed over his chest while he pulled the blankets down off me, and my t-shirt was pulled up over my flat stomach and under my armpits. His cold hands found my breasts, and I took a sharp intake of breath.

_Goddamn_—I needed this. Why had we stopped doing this so often?

He climbed under the sheets with me, and suddenly we were both naked. He positioned himself between my thighs and lifted me by my hips before he thrust forward with force. His fingers dug into my soft flesh, and it felt glorious.

Slowly, but with feeling, he continued to drive into me, and I felt myself burn with my impending climax. Before I could finish, he stopped and resumed his blank staring. He wasn't smirking.

"Leah, we're not alone."

"What do you mean, 'we're not alone'?" My eyes searched the room, but I could see nothing.

"Open your eyes and wake up; you're in danger," staring-Demetri warned me.

~X~

Suddenly, I jolted awake, and I realised I had been dreaming. Fantasy Demetri had been right to warn me, as a blonde teenage girl stood at the open door. She was a vampire, of course. She came inside and strutted up to the bed with attitude, but her expression was one of boredom.

"My name is Jane. I'm here to watch you while Demetri goes away to feed. He wants to go to the nearest hospital; I think it's quite pathetic."

I sat up and observed her. This one I definitely remembered from the field. She was the vamp with the maniacal stare, who had looked like someone stole her Barbie doll after Bella had stopped her from using whatever power it was that she had.

Jane walked over to the window and proceeded to ignore my presence.

In the month I'd been here in Italy, I'd had constant companionship with me in my room all hours of the day and night. It was usually the doctor during the day and Demetri overnight, but occasionally it would be Samantha or Felix, if for some reason my regular babysitters were otherwise occupied.

It had become apparent pretty quickly that I didn't have someone in my room with me all of the time just for my health or well-being. It seemed the vampires below ground didn't trust me, or they were scared I was going to run off with Harry.

If my guards hadn't been so _pleasant_, I would have felt imprisoned.

Strangely enough, whenever Samantha tried to put me through to my mom, the number was always busy or there was no answer, or the lines were down, or...

Samantha always apologised profusely, and I kept trying. I knew I wouldn't get through, so I just did it for the hell of it. I'd tried asking if she would put me through to the Cullens, and that had been bluntly refused. I tried my old high-school friend Sasha, and everyone else whose number I could remember.

It seemed the entire Washington area had real problems with their phone system. It pissed me off that they couldn't come up with anything remotely plausible. _How stupid do they think I am?_

It was enough to make you want to tear the phone from the wall. Unfortunately, afterwards, I realised that didn't help my cause any.

If I'd had the strength I would have wandered down to reception to ask to call myself, and see how she'd react to that. Unfortunately, the venom from my now almost-matured baby had me bed-ridden.

Not that I thought I'd be allowed to walk out of my room, now that I knew I was a prisoner.

On the few occasions that Demetri hadn't stayed with me overnight, Felix and a rapidly growing Felicia kept me company. I was getting quite fond of the giant vampire and his little girl; it was becoming very obvious she was going to be far from little by the time she was fully grown, and she was going to be_ strong_.

I wasn't the only being around here watching Felicia's development with interest. Apparently, Aro had offered Felicia a position in the guard already. Felix beamed with pride as he told me, while Felicia destroyed another expensive looking child's toy. After she'd succeeded, she looked up at me with wide, innocent-looking eyes and grinned. _Yeah, Felicia is gonna be one goddamn deadly addition._

Seeing her grow made me anticipate Harry's arrival even more. I'd had enough of being pregnant now, and I couldn't give birth soon enough. How other women coped with being pregnant for nine months with regular babies, I did not know. I felt as if I'd changed shape into an entirely different animal—an elephant.

It wasn't just my annoyance at being huge and the various side-effects that came with being pregnant; I really wanted to see my baby, too. Monster or not, I was going to be a mommy.

I'd also realised that Harry was going to be welcomed by the Volturi with open arms. I wasn't stupid. Aro wanted me as a guard dog, and when he visited he almost jumped out of his skin with enthusiasm whenever he mentioned the little hybrid I was growing.

If there was one thing that excited him more than Felicia, it was Harry.

As Harry grew, more venom found its way into my system. My body was running at full steam just to keep me functioning. I did not have enough left in me to do such things I had once taken for granted, like getting up and going to the toilet on my own, or putting my own socks on.

I was frustrated.

It didn't help that pregnancy hormones seemed to amplify every emotion in my body. I was even more volatile than usual, although with an embarrassingly sentimental edge. I'd found myself in tears once or twice. I told Demetri to make sure he wrote it down in his diary, as that wasn't something I allowed to happen often.

Right now, the main hormonal reaction I was having was rage towards my unwelcome guest.

Jane walked up to the window and opened it. She stood motionless, looking through at the night beyond. The moment was awkward, and as I scowled at her, it became obvious she wasn't a great conversationalist.

Eventually, she looked back at me. "I don't want to be here. I'm here under orders, and I will be gone as soon as he returns. I can think of better things to do with my time than babysitting _you_, mongrel."

One of my eyebrows rose. I wasn't known for my pleasant, welcoming attitude, but it seemed I had competition. I consoled myself that at least I wouldn't have to even try and be nice in return. Although, I tried to bear in mind that Jane was Demetri's superior for a reason and that without the ability to phase, I was as helpless as the next human.

"Couldn't they have sent Felix instead?" I said with obvious disgust. I liked Felix; I got the feeling when he wasn't bottle feeding his daughter blood that he would be fun to have around.

"He's busy with the hybrid." Jane continued to stare out of the window.

Never passing through the other side of puberty and being unable to act on raging hormones gave you one stinking attitude, apparently.

I had been a handful for my mother during my teens, and that was without bloodlust and psychosis. Demetri did not like Jane, and had told me previously that the feeling was entirely mutual. He'd given me the impression that she had a crush on Aro, their leader. She was very jealous of his attentions.

Aro was _very_ interested in hybrids. I was pregnant with some kind of super-hybrid. Jane probably wasn't getting the attention she was accustomed to. I smiled to myself.

"Is something funny, dog?" Finally, she turned her red eyes on me and glared.

"Yes," I snapped back and my eyes met hers. "_You_."

"I'm glad I amuse you, because you're the biggest joke I've seen around here in many years." She turned back to the window, but this time she had a smirk in place.

"What is your goddamn problem?"

"My problem is you."

My blood began to boil, but I reminded myself that I was physically weak; I doubted I could phase without hurting my baby. Risking Harry was out of the question. I waited a few moments for clarification from Jane, which wasn't forthcoming. "_Because.._."

"Don't think that because you are flavour of the month that Aro won't get bored of you. You're a novelty, and as soon as the child is born, you will go back to what you were before: a nobody."

I snorted. "So you're jealous of me? You're _pathetic_. As if I even want Aro's attention. Go back to your boss and suck ass if you'd feel more comfortable doing that; I don't need a babysitter."

"You aren't to be left alone. They don't trust you."

"I can assure you that the feeling is mutual. You interrupted my dream; now go away."

She arched an eyebrow in my direction, then went back to her window staring.

"You don't take hints well, do you?" I scowled at her, and wondered if I had enough fire left in me to make her wait outside.

"I don't waste my breath on dogs. This room stinks." Jane smiled sweetly at me. Her own saccharin stench assaulted my nostrils.

"Yeah, I know. You should really go take a shower or something." I smirked to myself at my childish joke, and Jane made a noise of disgust. I gave myself a point on the mental scoreboard inside my head. Still, she didn't leave.

Neither of us spoke for quite a while after that, until Jane broke the silence.

"He's using you—you do realise that? First for information, and now to give birth to an experiment."

I scowled at her. "Go back to your crypt and decapitate your Barbie dolls or something. If _Uncle Aro_ is worried about me and my baby, sending you is probably the worst thing he could do for my blood pressure."

Jane stared daggers at me, until her face twisted into an angelic smile. She wasn't fooling anyone. "Have you asked Demetri why he hasn't been punished for the debacle in Central Park?"

"That was nothing. The men didn't come forward, and the papers couldn't come up with anything to explain the noise." I'd had enough experience with vampire manipulation to recognise that Jane was trying to get a rise from me.

Jane now turned and gave me her full attention. "That was not _nothing_. By our law, your _slip_ was a crime punishable by death. The fact you could be heard might be overlooked, so long as any eye witnesses didn't survive. You let them go..."

"Of course I let them go. That's what I do. I protect humans from the likes of _you_."

Jane's mouth lifted in amusement. "You didn't do a very good job of it. After all, you didn't even protect them from your boyfriend..."

"What are you saying?" I scowled, and only the thought of the baby inside me held me back from phasing and tearing the bitch apart. "Demetri promised me he'd stuck to his diet plan." And I wholeheartedly believed him. Wasn't he on a hospital visit as we spoke?

Jane now looked at me with a bored expression. "Ah yes, the diet plan. How ridiculous. Just because you kill, that doesn't mean you have to drink. Quite wasteful, of course. Though it's nice to see that Demetri can still find a loophole in your agreement to make sure he's still loyal to Volturi law."

I sat in stunned silence for a moment; that wasn't something that happened often in an argument with Leah Clearwater. Jane's almost-smile twitched, while my face became contorted into a look of fury.

As much as I hated to admit it, it seemed highly likely that Jane was telling the truth. I recalled the day after I had phased in Central Park. Demetri had seemed unusually shifty that day. I had put it down to his being uncomfortable with what he'd admitted later.

Jane moved from the window and headed to the door. "Too easy. I didn't even have to bring up the subject of Heidi. Demetri is on his way. The next time we meet I hope you're not pregnant, because I can be a lot less _pleasant_."

The corner of my mouth lifted in a snarl. "When we next meet_ I _hope I'm not pregnant, too, because I will show you the meaning of the word unpleasant. I _promise_ you."

"Humph!" The perpetual teen vanished out through the door.

Thirty seconds later, Demetri arrived in the room. "_La lupa_, what was Jane doing here? I saw her at the window—"

He ducked as a glass shattered on the wall behind him. I wasn't quick enough for his vampire reactions, and a shower of tiny glittering fragments rained down on Demetri while he crouched and hissed.

I began to scream at him. My rage and the hormones coursing through my veins gave my lungs a semblance of my former strength.

Demetri snapped out of his automatic reaction, and stood up with a bemused look on his face. "Leah, what did Jane say to get you worked up like this?"

"What did she _say_? She told me what _you_ did in New York."

He took a moment, but I could see in his face that he knew exactly what I was talking about. "Oh, _that_."

I looked around for something else to throw. Fortunately for him, there was only my bedside cabinet and the fruit bowl. The cabinet would be too heavy, and the fruit bowl held my precious oranges.

Demetri materialised in front of me and tried to put his arms around my shoulders, but I shrugged him off. "Leah, I know I should have told you, but I knew you'd leave. If I'd let them live, when we came back here, I knew you would have been punished. I was between a rock and a hard place. I didn't feed off them—I stuck to my diet."

I pushed him away, and it felt good. "You _stuck_ to your diet? I think you're forgetting that the whole point we agreed to the diet in the first place was so you didn't have to _kill_ people!"

"Leah, I'm sorry. I was trying to do right." Demetri was backing away from me. I found this ridiculous as we both knew I was weaker than usual, and there was no way I would phase. The force of my anger was obviously enough to intimidate him.

"Every goddamn time. 'I was trying to do right.' 'I was trying to be helpful.' Killing isn't something you do to try and _fix_ a situation, but it's a goddamn good way to fuck it up. You could have _talked_ about it with me before you went and murdered them. Or you could have respected my wishes, and _not_ brought me to the last place on earth I would ever want to be."

"Leah, okay, I understand. Next time, I—"

"Next time? You think there's gonna be a _next time_? You _lied_ to me about murdering someone."

"I didn't lie; I made an omission." He regretted the correction as soon as soon as it left his lips; Demetri cringed as he registered my reaction.

If I had had a fraction of my former strength, then I hated to think how violent my reaction would have been. As it was, my condition kept me prisoner in my bed while I roared in frustration. I had never felt more animal in my rage. The roar was followed by a number of curse words.

"Leah, calm down, please. Can we talk about this when you're feeling a little more rational?"

"_Rational? Goddamn rational?_" I surprised even myself with the pure anger escaping my mouth. I didn't doubt that a number of others could also hear what I was saying, and not just vampires. "The first _rational_ thing I am going to do is kick you out of my room. I never want to see you again."

"But Leah, we're having a baby..."

"No, Demetri, _I'm_ having a baby. _Congratulations_, you got me banged up. I don't need _you_ around for the next part. As soon as I can get on a flight, I'm off to Forks to find myself a new, _more honest_ set of vampires to babysit me."

"_La lupa_, you'll calm down tomorrow. Please don't say anything you'll regret." His bright red eyes pleaded with me. His wide-eyed gaze only reminded me of what he was—a killer.

"_Out!_" Familiar tremors ran through my body, but I remembered the damage a phase could cause both me and my precious cargo.

Demetri left the room, but he hung around on the other side of the doorframe. "Leah, do you really think Aro is going to let you go to the Cullens with the first ever half-wolf, half-vampire baby? Stay here. I can look after you. I will keep you safe."

"_Look after me?_ I can look after myself. I don't even want to breathe the same air as you. Leave. Now."

"Leah..."

"_Go!_"I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I'm sure there's a poor innocent bystander around _somewhere_ that you can go kill."

I narrowed my eyes, and my breath came in pants as I tried to hold my human form together. Demetri stared at me for a few moments before he closed the door, and the room went silent. I buried my head in my hands.

I was in a whole heap of crap. Knocked up by a lying, murderous vampire, thousands of miles away from my family and those who could keep me safe, feet away from the Volturi headquarters, and utterly heartbroken. Again.

"_La lupa_, I love you. You know where I am when you need me." He was still on the other side of the door.

"Demetri, go to hell," I whispered hoarsely.

"Trust me, Leah. I'm already there."

I'd heard that line before. It hadn't helped me soften towards that guy, either.

~X~

I was unstable and volatile. Angry and vindictive Leah returned with a vengeance, and I could tell by the look in Doctor Bramley's eyes that I was being exceptionally difficult to be around.

Finding new ways to be a bitch kept me entertained, as things had gotten boring since I'd deprived myself of Demetri's company. He'd tried to visit more than once, but he stayed outside, as I refused to let him enter the room. He was not forgiven, and I'd certainly not forgotten.

Felix became my new babysitter, and he felt the lash of my tongue a number of times when he tried to explain Demetri's side of the story to me. Of course, he wasn't going to understand why I was so against what his friend had done; Felix was a blood-drinking murderer himself. In the end, he gave it up when he saw I wasn't willing to listen.

The fact was that I didn't _want_ to hear it, because I was worried I would crumble and welcome Demetri back with open arms, without him getting the hard time he deserved. He'd betrayed my trust.

I didn't want to be one of those girls who let a guy walk all over her just for the sake of being in love with him. I was no goddamn Bella Swan.

Trust had to be earned, and Demetri had a lot to prove.

I missed him. I wanted him beside me desperately, and if it wasn't for Doctor Bramley and Felix, I would have felt entirely alone. My heart ached, but over the years I'd gotten used to that pain. It helped a little for me to project my anger out on the world, as I'd always done.

We would see how he was when the baby arrived. If he cared for me enough, then I was sure that it would show then more than ever. The Volturi wanted my baby; once Harry made an appearance, Demetri would have the opportunity to win my trust back—or destroy it completely

~X~

One night, I awoke from my sleep to find a tall, dark, unfamiliar vampire in my room. I shook the sleep from my head, and she pushed the hood back from her hair.

She was breathtakingly beautiful and elegant, with an aristocratic air. If I hadn't hated her before I'd set eyes on her, then I would have on sight anyway.

"Hello, Leah," she said. I knew what she was about to say next before it even crossed her lips. "I'm Heidi."

"I guessed." I was frosty; it was entirely intentional.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion. I'm afraid it was a choice of Jane or myself to keep you occupied tonight, and we were sure Jane would be even less welcome than I." She smiled widely. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"Do you mind if I speak with you for a moment?" she asked me.

"You're already lurking in my room, uninvited. Why would I mind if you choose to say something when you're already here?"

"I am sorry. Believe me when I say that I understand why you would be uncomfortable with my being here. I assure you that I don't mean to make you feel that way." She slowly moved closer to the bed. Even the way she moved screamed seduction.

I snorted and folded my arms.

"I know you feel a certain...animosity towards me. I can assure you that I wish you no ill-will, whatsoever. I want to see Demetri happy, and I ampleased that he has found someone—"

"_Had_ found—past tense." I lifted my chin defiantly. Obviously she was going to make the most of the opportunity to persuade me into letting her fuck buddy wheedle his way back in with me. _Why would she even do that, anyway? _

Heidi would get the same treatment Felix had gotten when he'd tried.

"Leah, please give Demetri a chance. I cannot stress the amount of change I have seen in him since he met you. Killing is a way of life for our kind. It was never going be an easy adjustment for him. Is it not enough that he tries?"

"I doubt he even recognises when he is committing murder."

"No, Leah, probably not. You cannot claim to be perfect, I think. You have killed our kind before. Did you consider that murder, or did you think of it as a necessity at the time?"

"I kill vampires to protect my tribe," I snarled at her, too weak to put much power behind the words.

"We kill to survive, too," Heidi replied calmly. "We kill to feed. Who is to judge whether one justification is less evil than the other?" Unfortunately, she had been to the same school of flawless logic that made it so hard to debate the point with Demetri.

Maybe she had been his teacher. My inner wolf gnashed her teeth.

"You don't have to feed on humans. There is another way."

"Ah yes, the Olympic and the Denali covens." Heidi paced to the window. "The Cullens and the Denalis are very rare in our world. I don't think you appreciate just how difficult it is for us to deny our nature in that way. It is near impossible. After the amount of time Demetri has spent on earth, and the nature of his personality, I think it would be an _impossibility_ for him to resist. I know I couldn't."

I eyed the articulate beauty. She was as much of a killer as the others; it was easy to forget.

"Yeah, well, you won't be making my Christmas list either," I spat, as if I was the venomous one.

She _goddamn _chuckled at me. "I can see why he likes you."

A rush of jealousy consumed me as I compared myself with her. I hadn't expected her to be so intelligent or nice. This vampire had _slept _with my lover many, many times—figuratively speaking. I felt out-classed, and I wondered how Demetri could ever prefer me over such a creature.

Maybe he didn't.

Rage began building inside me, and I felt my hormones starting to boil my blood. I finally asked the question that burned inside me every time I thought Heidi's name.

"Are you, or have you ever been, Demetri's mate?"

"No, Leah. I know you know of our..._arrangement_, but we've never mated. I lost my husband many, many years ago. Longer ago than you can even contemplate. Eternal life can be a little lonely." Her exquisite red eyes searched mine. "He is, and always has been, a good friend."

"Friends that—"

"Yes, Leah. There is no need to be so crude about it. It was hardly an exclusive arrangement." I looked at her. I felt like a peasant in the presence of royalty. It wasn't the nicest of feelings, and I was more aware than ever of my own feral roughness.

I shifted up the bed to ask more questions about the nature of their _friendship_, but I was interrupted by a sharp jab from the vicinity of my stomach. By now, I had become accustomed to my unborn child moving a rib or two to make room for himself. It hurt like hell, but my bones soon healed.

This time, it was different. My baby twisted itself round within my uterus, and I found myself stunned motionless and silent by the unpleasant sensation. The feeling almost made me vomit.

"Leah, are you feeling alright?" Heidi came a little closer, but the flash of my eyes warned her I was not so worried that I'd granted her permission to come near.

"Wake the goddamn doctor." The baby squirmed again, violently, and I gasped. "_Now_."


	18. Chapter 18 Arrivals

CHAPTER 18 - ARRIVALS

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**I do however have the company of some excellent betas, fanfic friends, pre-readers, blinkie-makers, readers and reviewers. Getting to know you guys makes this journey worthwhile.**

**WARNING – Hybrid childbirth equals 'yuck' and 'ouch.' Those of a more sensitive disposition might want to skip a few paragraphs.**

**On a lighter note...I've made a video for Red Eyes, as well as two other very worthy fics, "Fallen Princess" and "After The Rain," which you can find on my blog (link on my profile.) I hope it gives you an idea of how I see this story myself.**

~X~

_I know some people search the world,_

_To find something like what we have._

_I know people will try,_

_Try to divide something so real,_

_So 'til the end of time,_

_I'm telling you there is,_

_No one, no one, no one,_

_Can get in the way of what I'm feeling,_

_No one, no one, no one,_

_Can get in the way of what I feel for you._

No-one, Alicia Keys

~X~

Heidi viewed me with horrified red eyes for a half second before turning and flying out of the room at inhuman speed. Harry continued to squirm inside me, and I squealed. _Loud._

After a few minutes, Heidi returned at a more natural pace with the doctor in tow, just as Harry decided to break a couple of my ribs. The doctor turned on the light, and I was temporarily blinded. A panicked Dr. Bramley then began to search through drawers for various utensils and laid them on a tray.

"Goddamnit, hurry up and get this thing out of me!" I yelled, as the doctor rolled up his pyjama sleeves, thoroughly washed his arms and then proceeded to prepare his equipment.

He turned to Heidi, who was still waiting in the doorway. "You had best leave now. If you could let Aro know that the baby is about to make an appearance and—"

The doctor was interrupted by a scream as the baby inside me squished a couple of internal organs.

"On second thought, I think he'll already know. Just make sure no-one comes up here until we have thoroughly cleaned up."

Flashes of pain burned behind my eyes and I felt the familiar itch that accompanied rapid healing. I could see why humans would have difficulty surviving _this_. I began to feel quite fearful that this might be fatal even for me.

Heidi backed away, reaching inside her cloak and pulling out a cell phone as she clicked the door closed behind her.

Now, it was just me, the doctor, and the inhumanly strong baby inside me that wanted out.

Dr. Bramley brought the tray over to the bed, and then wheeled out some contraption with tubes and a face mask.

We'd already talked about the fact that pain relief would burn off in my system too quickly without giving me a dose of something like morphine—and lots of it. That wasn't advisable seeing as we didn't know how that would affect the baby. Gas and air was my only option.

"Right, let's get started, Leah."

I eyeballed the doctor for a moment. "Yeah, _let's_."

"Attitude isn't going to help the matter," the doctor replied. I noticed he looked extremely nervous; I was reminded of Jake's memories of Nessie's birth, and the way the normally talkative doctor went silent when the matter of Felicia's birth came up.

_Crap._

"Look, doc. When you're in my position, _then_ you can tell me whether or not sarcasm is called for. Now start cutting my baby out before he decides to make a run for it himself via the nearest internal organ!"

"Of course, Leah." He unbuttoned the bottom of my black silk nightshirt, poured some kind of cold liquid on my stomach and wiped it over with a large cotton pad. Dr. Bramley picked up a scalpel and looked directly into my eyes. "You might want to start with the gas and air and the breathing. Let me know when you are ready."

I grabbed the mask and took deep, steady breaths, and after a moment I nodded towards the doc. For all I was scared, I wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible; hanging around would only mean more pain.

The scalpel dragged across my skin, and I grunted with pain, before I remembered to inhale and exhale. A trail of blood ran down the sides of my distended, moving stomach. Both Dr. Bramley and I looked on in shock as the incision he'd made quickly resealed itself.

"Ah," said the doctor flatly.

"_Ah?_ What the fucking hell is 'ah?'"

"It means I might have been so worried about getting through the amniotic sac, that I neglected to factor in that getting through your skin and staying that way might be a task in itself."

"_What?_" I yelled at the top of my voice. There was nothing less reassuring than knowing the guy who was delivering your demon baby didn't know what the hell he was doing.

The doctor got to his feet and made his way to the recently repaired phone in the corner of the room. He paused for a moment while he waited for someone to answer.

"Sorry to wake you, Samantha, but I need your assistance in Leah's room quite urgently. Thank you."

I noticed that there were bloody fingerprints left on the phone. My blood. My stomach heaved, and I quickly grabbed a nearby bowl.

The doctor began scrubbing his hands once more, and Samantha soon arrived in the room, also in her nightwear. Her eyes flicked over to me and the waiting doctor.

"Samantha, wash your arms thoroughly. I'm going to need a helping hand to perform this caesarean."

Samantha removed her dressing gown and carried out Dr. Bramley's request in her nightie.

Suddenly, I screamed louder than I ever knew was possible as Harry decided to explore my pelvis, cracking it in the process. An excruciating shock ran up my spine and as I braced myself, knocking my bedside cabinet over. The glass bowl shattered as it hit the floor and my oranges rolled in all directions across the room.

The two humans rushed over to me, and I repeated strings of curse words like a mantra to help me focus through my pain.

The doctor's voice was shaky as he began to give Samantha instructions. "I will make the incision through the skin, and then I will need you to use this..." He held up a device of torture. "To keep the two sides of skin apart while I cut through the amniotic sac. I will give you the child to clean while I finish up with Leah."

The secretary nodded with a look of worry on her face. I guessed this wasn't in her job description.

The doctor looked at me again. "Ready?"

I grabbed my face mask and braced myself. The doctor slowly cut me again, and this time Samantha was there to keep the sides of the wound apart. The sensation burned me, and my eyes rolled back in my head for a moment.

I made sure the world heard _exactly_ how I was feeling. By projecting outwards, I managed to keep myself from falling to pieces. I thought I was a girl who could take pain in her stride, and I didn't want to turn into a cry baby now.

I wanted my mom. I wanted Demetri. But I knew it was impossible for either to be here with me now, so I cursed my way through and far beyond my pain threshold.

The doctor then picked up a metal handle with a long, yellowed fang attached. It didn't look overly sterile to me. I couldn't see what he was doing, but I heard a screech that I recognised as the sound of teeth tearing vampire flesh. I couldn't feel the incision.

Suddenly, there was fluid and lots of it. It spilled everywhere and as it did it felt like acid, burning whatever part of me it came into contact with.

The doctor quickly used both hands to pull the baby from inside me, before cutting the cord and passing the bloodied, squirming shape to Samantha, who rushed away to the other side of the room. My eyes never left her as I saw her cleaning my child. He didn't cry and I panicked at the eerie silence.

The doctor continued to work over me in silence. He lifted a clear, deflated bubble out of my stomach, which made a heavy clunk as it dropped in the metal waste bin that the doctor had kept handy. He then removed some disgusting, fleshy object from me that I could only assume was the placenta, and it joined the bubble in the bin. The doctor then began rummaging in my opened stomach like I was some kind of living handbag. I felt him reach my shattered pelvis; the sensation was sickening, as the bone was still only beginning to knit back together.

"I think you will heal fine. Let's get you closed up." He smiled at me, and then I felt something fleshy joining itself back together inside me. I watched as Dr. Bramley slowly and carefully allowed my skin to heal itself, looking in amazement as my washboard stomach returned, even if the bloodiness reminded me of the disappearing wound.

Samantha returned to the bed with a small bundle, and I scooched up the bed as she laid him in my arms.

I looked down at my son for the first time.

I gasped.

_My baby boy._

A hundred bonds inside me snapped as I became captivated by the open and aware golden eyes staring back at me. A steel cable leading from my pounding chest tied me to him inextricably, and I looked on at him in awe. He was the most precious thing on earth, and I wanted to keep him close and safe at all times.

I knew this bond too well, as I had seen it through the eyes of the pack many times. The intensity of an imprint still shocked me as I experienced it myself for the first time.

His skin had a light, coppery sheen, and he had a shock of matted black hair on top of his wrinkled head. Despite their miniature size, his arms already seemed strong. I could see myself in him. I could also see his father's chin and eyes, albeit in a different shade.

I smiled widely, and Harry's mouth mirrored my action. I caught a glimpse of tiny, impossibly white teeth behind his minute lips.

There was nothing else in the world in this moment except me and my child.

_This_ was how female wolves imprinted—the bond of motherhood. It was perfectly natural; after all, even without the supernatural bond I would still want to protect him and never have him out of reach. Harry Lucius Clearwater, my son, was my very reason for existing.

The nature of the imprint bond suddenly became very clear. It wasn't romantic, but an infinitely intense urge to protect and be near the person who had inspired it.

I was thrilled. All the pain and all the drama that brought me to this very moment in time was worth it. This was perfection, and everything I had ever wanted.

I managed to force words out of my mouth. "Hello, Harry. I'm your mommy." My jaw was beginning to ache because I was smiling so wide. I wasn't used to it.

My baby yawned, and gave me one final smile before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Once his eyes released me, I became aware of Dr. Bramley and Samantha staring at me and my child.

"Well, that was a little easier than last time. A job well done. Congratulations, Leah. You did us proud."

I smiled back at them, too ecstatic to ruin the moment with sarcasm. "Thank you," I whispered back. I was truly grateful. I resumed staring at my new baby as he slept, enjoying watching him take small breaths in and out.

Samantha and the doctor began to clean up the bloodied room thoroughly, coating all surfaces in bleach. Everything that had been used was put into the metal bin. Eventually, they turned their attentions to me.

"Leah," Samantha began, "I'll look after Harry while you go take a shower." She held her arms out as a signal for me to hand him over.

"_No!_ I'm not letting him out of my sight." I held him closer to my bosom protectively. Harry was the one thing holding me to the earth, and I felt like I'd drift away if I left him for a second.

The doctor came over to me. "Leah, you need to clean yourself up before any vampires come to visit. You wouldn't want to endanger your son by being covered in blood, would you?"

Finally, after much more encouragement and reassurance, I reluctantly handed Harry over to Samantha. I headed off to the bathroom with a bag containing clothing, underwear and various bathroom essentials. Hastily stripping myself, I climbed into the shower and got clean; the water ran red at first and then steadily became clear.

All the while, I listened for the slightest noise from the next room. The invisible bond threatened to contract at any time and send me hurtling back to Harry.

I returned as quickly as I could, wanting my baby back as soon as humanly possible.

Samantha handed Harry back, and I wandered around the room with his sleeping form in my arms; I was a little stiff but well on my way to being completely healed. The doctor headed off to the bathroom with a trash bag in one hand and bleach in the other.

My room had been entirely sanitized, and anything associated with the birth was ready to be burned. Once the doctor put the final bag containing everything I had been wearing in the metal bin, he then moved the bin over to the balcony and set it alight.

Outside, it was dawn, and I walked over to the window to watch the sun rising over the terracotta, stepped roofs of the surrounding buildings. I smiled. My first day as a mommy.

My baby stirred and opened his eyes. He looked around for a second, and then began to whimper quietly.

"I think he may be hungry, Leah," the doctor said as he observed us.

I froze. _What do I feed him?_

"Err...what do you think he eats?" I asked.

The doctor smiled. "If he drank blood, then you would have known almost instantly. Felicia didn't leave us in doubt for very long before she took her first bite; she certainly didn't have a nap first. I believe Harry feeds like any human or wolf baby, and you're the best source for that."

"Oh, right." I nervously took my baby over to the bed and climbed on. I opened my shirt and loosened the front fastening bra I had been given to wear. Holding Harry to my breast tentatively, I exhaled in relief as he latched on and began to suckle without taking a chunk out of me.

He didn't drink blood like his father, and judging by his quiet whimpers he wasn't going to be a screaming banshee like myself. Exactly what I'd hoped for, yet so much more.

My mind then turned to Demetri. Surely he would know by now that he was a daddy? Certainly, any human or vampire in the local area would have heard that there was a birth taking place.

The day got progressively brighter, and still I had no visitors. I began to get angry. So much for all Demetri's pretty words and Aro's enthusiasm. Even if this wasn't considered enough of an occasion to risk a second visit to my room in daylight, then surely it was deserving of a phone call.

The only thing that calmed me down was staring at the little miracle lying in my arms.

I had imprinted. It was the most perfect imprint I could ever have planned for myself. Like the irresistible lure Bella had held for Jacob as the mother of his future imprint, Demetri had held an appeal for me as the vampire destined to get me pregnant.

I thought about it for a second. Since he'd fulfilled his purpose, would I still be attracted to my murderous, lying lover? I was angry at him, that was for sure—doubly so, now that he hadn't been in contact to ask about how his son was getting along, or how I was feeling.

I didn't hate him, though. In fact, a large part of me wanted him here with me now. I missed him.

He was an ass, but I still loved him. I wished he was here to see the little bundle of perfection we'd created.

_Why isn't he calling?_

The doctor came over to examine Harry, who was awake and taking everything in with curious eyes.

"Do the Volturi know I've given birth?"

Dr. Bramley laughed. "I think everyone in a ten-mile radius knows you were in labor. I'm sure that even if Samantha hadn't informed them personally, then the fact you are quiet now would speak volumes to them."

My brow wrinkled as I frowned. If they knew, why weren't they showing the intense interest they'd demonstrated before Harry was born? Suspicion prickled up and down my spine, and I held my baby closer.

The doctor reassured me. "They're probably just waiting for nightfall. You wouldn't interrupt a wolf in the wild with newborn cubs without expecting some kind of defensive reaction. Enjoy the one-on-one time while it lasts."

"Hmmm," I snorted. My chest ached with joy, pain, pride, and sadness.

I circled the room, making coochy-coo faces at my son, who giggled in delight. The sound filled my heart with happiness. No matter what else happened, I had focus in life. Harry was my everything; the world revolved around him now.

I heard a sound and my head whipped around to see a sparkling shape on the balcony. Demetri was in a crouch and had a desperate look on his face.

"Leah, Parma airport. Let's go _now_."

The urgency in his voice did not escape me.


	19. Chapter 19 Showdown

CHAPTER 19 - SHOWDOWN

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thank you for the nominations for the Gem Awards-I'm really flattered. Some of my favourite stories are also nominated, but just for readers to have put me forward makes me extremely happy. I feel loved—ahh! My top tips are "Fallen Princess," "Absolution," "Tre," and "Caught." I highly recommend checking them out!**

**Thank you to my awesome betas nowforruin and solareclipses. Without their help Red Eyes would not be as good, I guarantee. **

**Sorry, Blackwater101, your review was unsigned and I couldn't find you on a search. The link should be working now **

**Now...I guess I best do something about that cliffhanger...**

~X~

_As my life flashes before my eyes,_

_I wondering will I ever see another sunrise._

_So many won't get the chance to say goodbye,_

_But it's too late to think of the value of my life._

Russian Roulette, Rihanna

~X~

Demetri stood up and strode into the room towards me and my child. I held my baby closer to my chest.

"What? Why?"

When I didn't move he put his hands on my shoulders. "Please, Leah, we can't waste any time." His eyes were frantic and flicked towards the door. "It's too late. Out on the balcony." He grabbed my elbow and dragged me towards the window.

He looked down at our child and to me, and it seemed he was about to say something. Before he could, the door flew open and a number of cloaked figures entered the room.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled, as Demetri took on a defensive crouch in front of me.

"Demetri! We did not expect to see you here," Aro said in surprise as he slowly removed his hood; his eyes glanced to his companions nervously.

I recognised Aro and Jane, but the other vampires were unfamiliar. With Jane there was a teenage boy with dark hair, and standing by Aro was a blond vampire who had young features, but somehow seemed ancient.

The blond vampire spoke first. "Kill the wolf," he instructed another pair of adult male and female vampires. His voice was a hiss and filled with pure venom as he glared at me. The vampires he commanded approached apprehensively.

Demetri bolted forward and his motions were a blur; the female's face shattered into a thousand crystal pieces while her torso slumped to the floor. The male made a grab for Demetri, but my lover evaded his grasp, only to freeze in front of Jane.

He yelled and I surveyed the scene in confusion, as Jane stared at him intently with a demonic look on her face.

The doctor had backed onto the balcony, and despite the wrench at being parted, I quickly handed Harry to him in order to help Demetri. "Don't let them take him," I pleaded; the doctor nodded in understanding.

I leapt forwards into the room and burst into wolf form. My size dominated the enclosed area, and I knocked one of the unfamiliar males onto the floor. Aro and his blond friend backed away nervously when I snarled in their direction—the noise was deafening in the small room.

Demetri was motionless with a look of agony on his face, his body twisted into an unnatural position, his head flung back, arms held out sideways and hands held in white-knuckled fists. Jane continued to stare, and she did not react to my phasing.

I turned, and my teeth connected with the arm of the male vampire I had floored, who was nearest and looked ready to pounce, wrenching both of his arms from his body while he squealed in agony. I turned to his companions and growled with teeth bared.

Jane's attention was still held by my lover, and the other teen stood by her protectively. He scowled in my direction but made no move towards me.

My eyes met Demetri's for a split second, and a moment of understanding passed between us. Of all the emotions I could see, the overwhelming ones were pain and defeat. He opened his mouth to say something...and then everything clouded over and went black.

I could hear nothing, and I could see nothing. The only sense I had was of the imaginary steel cable which told me my son was diagonally behind me.

I wouldn't let them take him from me. If I had to do it blind, I would still do everything in my power to keep him safe. Using the bond to Harry as a compass, I judged the positions of Aro and the blond male before my senses were stolen from me. I snapped in their direction.

I couldn't tell if I'd connected with anything, and I began to worry in case Demetri would get in the way.

Then suddenly I could see, but the vision was fuzzy and somehow not quite right. A pair of human arms in a white coat were struggling to hold me, and a large silver wolf stood in front, motionless and filling one half of the room.

The vampires stared at me in disbelief. Aro's shock then collapsed into a wide smile as he observed.

_Momma._ I heard a voice in my head, but it was not my own.

It all clicked into place, and I understood, even if I couldn't quite believe it myself. My baby had phased, and I was seeing through the pack mind.

Jane was walking towards me and had gotten dangerously close, a smirk crossing her not so angelic face. That smirk quickly dropped as I unexpectedly turned with teeth bared and wrapped my jaws around her neck. It was difficult to judge the distance looking through Harry's mind, but I shook hard, and Jane's small, blonde head was flung across the room.

Her teenage companion made a move for me, until we were joined in the room by another two members of the Volturi. Heidi and Felix.

Felix slipped past me and cornered Aro and the blond in the corner of the room. They cowered once more. Heidi came up behind the teen before he had time to react and removed his head from his body, stopping him inches before reaching me. I stared in shock.

We were on the same side.

Suddenly, my normal vision returned, yet I could still see the echo from Harry's mind inside my own.

My eyes scanned the room for Demetri, and my heart lurched as I found his headless form lying on the floor where I had last seen him. His body was motionless, but luckily I could only see his hair, not his features. I began to shake and for a moment I forgot where I was.

_No._ I looked around at the other destroyed vampires strewn across the floor, and refused to accept that he had joined them. There was no goddamn way Demetri could be—

_Momma?_ The voice in my head snapped me from the beginnings of a spiral of pain, and I twisted my head around to see a wolf cub, with black and silver fur and the size of a dog, in the doctor's arms. We weren't safe. I had to get Harry far away from here.

Another voice caused me to twist my head in the opposite direction. It was Heidi, as she removed the head of the armless male.

"Leah, take your son and _go_."

I needed no further encouragement. I turned around in the confined space and approached Dr. Bramley. He shook with fear as he held out Harry towards me; I grabbed my son by the scruff of his neck.

Once I had a firm grip, I leaped off the balcony onto the tiled roof opposite. Tiles cracked and slid off under me but I managed to keep my footing. I found my balance on the slipping tiles, and then ran tentatively across the terracotta steps, jumping across the gaps between buildings.

Adrenaline and the immediate need to flee somehow kept my breakdown at bay, but my entire chest felt constricted.

When I got to the square and the tile carpet ended, I had no choice but to leap down and bolt across the open space, my cub still held in my mouth.

The humans turned and looked at me in horror as I flashed by them. Some screamed, and some dashed for cover, while others just simply stood and stared, open-jawed. I rushed through the winding, cobbled streets that led down the main gate, flying over cars with shocked drivers and pedestrians diving out of my way.

Finally, I made it out of the town gates, and once I found myself in open space I ran as fast as my paws could carry me. Italian countryside rushed past me in a blur.

I stayed as close as I dared to the main roads and followed the road signs that pointed me towards Parma. I had no idea what I would do when I arrived, but if Demetri had told me to go there then that should be my first stop.

I now trusted him with my entire being. I wished so hard that I'd never given him such a hard time now I'd seen exactly what he was capable of doing for me and our child. A million memories of moments where I could have been a little nicer flowed through my brain.

My heart twisted within my furry chest as I remembered the look on his face when I had last seen him sentient. Pain, desperation, panic, love... his eyes had mirrored what I was feeling now.

I had no idea what had happened, but he had tried to help us escape before the rest of the Volturi had arrived. He had taken on all of them in order to give me and our son a chance of survival, and had been executed for doing so. He was _gone_.

Tears welled in my wolf eyes as I realised my lover's final sacrifice. Harry whined at my distress.

If he hadn't warned me, then I would have been totally unprepared for Aro's arrival. They would have killed me and taken my baby. I owed everything to the man who I hadn't even allowed to visit in the final stages of my pregnancy, and I wouldn't get a chance to take my angry, accusing words back.

My pain was all consuming.

It was as if the heavy feeling in my chest was pulling me down to the ground like gravity, yet I knew I had to keep running. My heart pounded as I resisted the urge to stop and allow it to tear itself apart.

_Momma_. My son became confused by my mental pictures and caught my attention with a few images of his own. He showed me Demetri on his knees, with the blond binding his arms behind him while Aro removed his head. I sobbed mentally.

_That was your daddy, Harry_, I explained, my mental voice thick with emotion. _He loved us both very, very much_.

_Dadda_?

I showed him a few of my own pictures. Demetri feeling Harry move for the first time, running through the forest by my side, and laughing and joking with me while I ate.

Harry now showed me an image of my human self smiling down at him earlier, and then of me handing him over to the doctor and phasing. He then remembered the strange sensation that accompanied becoming a wolf.

_That's right. You're like mommy; you can change shape, too_.

We continued to communicate via pictures as we passed swiftly through rolling Italian scenery, my feet rhythmically pounding the earth as we drew closer to our destination.

I had no passport, and I had no money. All I had was the most precious being on earth here with me.

I began to fret over the fact I had no idea what Demetri's escape plan was once I reached the airport. I doubted that the Volturi private jet would be at my disposal. Maybe Demetri had some plane tickets? Maybe he had other ideas?

If I got there and I had no other option, then at least I knew that the Volturi had lost their tracker, and I had a good chance of disappearing off the radar in Europe until such a time as I could find a way back to the U.S.

I felt crushed again as I reminisced about my loss and, for a second, emotions almost took over. I would rather be tracked across the world than not have Demetri on the face of the earth.

I ran across fields, never straying far from the main roads, and I knew I had been seen by numerous people as I weaved between buildings on the approach to the airport. I didn't care, so long as it got my baby closer to safety.

It dawned on me that I was also lacking in clothes, and I stopped in a grouping of trees near a motorway overpass while I tried to plan our next move.

I knew we weren't far away from our final destination as a low airplane roared overhead.

Once we halted, Harry also informed me that he was hungry, so I placed him on the ground and phased back. Harry also changed back from a wolf cub to a human baby; I picked up my child and held him to my breast.

I looked down at the beautiful being Demetri and I had created.

Considering he was only around twelve hours old, he already looked much older. His dark hair was no longer matted, and healthy rolls had formed on his sturdy looking legs. He'd also mastered the art of controlling his phasing. The speed at which he was developing was amazing.

As I held my not-so-small, newborn baby in my arms, I instantly missed the mental bond, but I smiled down at him as he nuzzled me. At least I still had plenty of milk on tap and my baby wouldn't starve. I had the essentials here with me, and that was something to be grateful for.

I still felt alone, as I held Harry's uncovered form to mine, hoping to keep him warm with my own body temperature. I wanted to be strong and keep my baby safe, and hoped that thought would keep the reservoir of hurt that was building up at bay for a little while longer.

I would need to steal some clothes from somewhere, and I would have to do that in wolf form. There were plenty of houses nearby and I had passed a spa. The passport and plane ticket would be a lot harder—

I heard a noise, the sound of a twig snapping underfoot, and I stood up quickly. Harry whimpered as he lost contact with my breast.

"Who's there?" My heart pounded as a sickly-sweet perfume assaulted my nostrils, but this was a familiar vampire.

"Leah, it's all right." Edward Cullen stepped out from between some trees. "The rest of my family are on their way."

I covered myself in embarrassment and relief while Edward averted his eyes.

"Alice has some clothes for you. We're taking you home."

I heard the noise of numerous other feet—and paws—and suddenly I was surrounded by an army of Cullens. The large one, Emmett, was carrying my mother; she ran towards me with open arms the second her feet touched the ground.

"Leah! Are you okay?" My mother fussed over me and I temporarily forgot my nakedness. She took a sharp intake of breath as she touched her grandson for the first time. "Oh, Leah, isn't he beautiful?"

I beamed with pride and love for my mother, as I wound my free arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight. Another figure rushed up to me, still fastening his cut-offs as he approached. My brother also joined the group hug. I could swear he'd grown since I'd last seen him.

It was too much; I was overwhelmed and tears of relief, pain and disbelief streamed down my face.

As I was smothered by my family, I looked around with watery eyes at the large collection of onlookers. The entire Cullen family was here, as was Jake, Paul and Sam.

Alice Cullen approached the Clearwater family reunion. In her hands she held a bag, which she held out for me.

"You wolves don't make it easy for me. You might want to get dressed."

I reluctantly handed my bundle of joy over to his grandmother, and took the bag out of Alice's outstretched hands.

"Thanks. I don't suppose you have baby clothes in here, too." I managed to get the words past the huge lump in my throat.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Of course, and in a variety of sizes for when he grows on the way home. Now come on; we have a plane to catch in an hour."

~X~

**Make love not war...and don't hate me **

**It was necessary for the story...honest x**


	20. Chapter 20 Departures

CHAPTER 20 – DEPARTURES

**I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.**

**I promised you I would put you out of your misery and show you why Demetri's death was necessary...well here you go.**

**Thanks to Nowforruin, Solareclipses, and TheRainGirl for beta help. **

**Check out the forthcoming "Twilight Original Character Awards" that I am organising with WolvesCanEatMe. We have some excellent authors as judges.**

**original character awards. blogspot. com  
**

~X~

_Run and tell all of the angels,  
This could take all night.  
Think I need a devil to help me get things right.  
Hook me up a new revolution,  
Cause this one is a lie.  
We sat around laughing and watched the last one die._

_And I'm looking to the sky to save me,  
Looking for a sign of life,  
Looking for something to help me burn out bright._

Learn to Fly, Foo Fighters

~X~

I tried my hardest to sleep, but between the droning of the plane and my thoughts of Demetri, it was impossible. Now that I was safely away from the Volturi, the full gravity of what had happened hit me.

I loved Demetri. He had loved both me and Harry—enough to give up his immortal life for us.

The pain was a venom-coated knife in my chest, and the agonising memories stunned me. Now and again, tears welled in my eyes, but I fought them back. I didn't want anyone to see how utterly destroyed I felt.

I needed the bathroom, and eventually my mother convinced me to hand sleeping Harry over to her care for just a few moments. The intensity of the imprint bond surprised me. Every step away from my child felt as if it was made with concrete feet. Eventually, I made it up the aisle and into the cramped bathroom.

While having a few private moments on my own, I allowed myself a few raw and silent sobs over what had happened. Before I could become overwhelmed, I left the bathroom, hoping that company would help me keep my emotional mask in place, only to find Sam waiting outside.

I stood to one side to allow him access to the bathroom I'd vacated, but it seemed that it was me that he was waiting on. After a few moments of awkward silence, he spoke. "Leah...I'm really sorry...about everything."

"Yeah, well, that's life, I guess," I muttered bitterly, as I tried to squeeze past him. He hadn't finished yet, and he made no move to make my passage easier; I didn't want to get too close to his imposing form.

I wished the guy would learn to be a little more eager to spit things out without relying on the pack mind to do it for him. It was obvious he had something to say to me, and so we waited a few moments for him to begin.

"I'm sorry about the things I said, and just wanted you to know that I really wished things had worked out better for you with the...er...vampire. I should never have pressured you into leaving like I did. If you want to, there's always a place in the pack for you. We would help you keep your baby safe."

I paused and stared at him. _Do I want to rejoin the pack?_

Now that I had a son and imprint that was almost certainly immortal, I was going to have to keep phasing to make sure I stayed the same way. I also needed protection for both myself and Harry from the Volturi. But to put everything that had happened on show for everyone really wasn't appealing, now that I'd grown accustomed to keeping my thoughts to myself.

A million possibilities whirred through my mind, only to be replaced with more memories of Demetri and the need to get back to Harry.

"Yeah, thanks, Sam. I'll think about it." _Later_, I added mentally. I had enough going through my head without thoughts of Sam and what the future might bring.

Sam's eyes pleaded with me, but I turned and made my way back to my seat.

Before I could get there, Alice accosted me, and I grumbled my frustration. I reminded myself that Harry was more than fine in his grandmother's arms, and I should allow them some bonding time, no matter how painful the separation.

"Leah, can I have a word with you for a moment?" Alice asked me in a sing-song voice, as I passed where she was sitting.

I guessed I owed her for rescuing us, so I bit back the more natural response. "Er, yeah, sure."

Alice looked at Emmett meaningfully, and he got up. "Okay, I get it. Girl chat. I needed the exercise, anyway."

The big Cullen's build reminded me of Felix's. He pretended to stretch his legs, walking up and down the aisle, and I sat in his seat to hear what the tiny vamp had to say..

"You know you had me worried back there," Alice began. "I couldn't see you until you were ill in New York. One minute you were dead on the plane, and then next I could see you having a baby in Italy. You had us all in quite a panic."

I looked at her, unsure of what she expected me to say in return. Was she expecting a goddamn apology for the inconvenience of seeing my future?

"Once you were pregnant, I found I could see you, so we've been keeping an eye on your decisions—ready to fly out to Italy the second you needed us. The pack wanted to go straight out there and bring you home by force. Of course, until I convinced them otherwise, that really messed around with my vision. Still, we had enough time to forge some passports for you and Harry."

"Sorry for causing you such a goddamn headache, but as you can imagine, I had other things on my mind other than whether nosey vampires were watching my future or not."

Alice giggled. "I haven't finished my story yet. And you know, they say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

I glared. I reminded myself that I was grateful for Alice's ability, as I'd probably still be stranded in Italy without it.

She needed no encouragement to start talking again.

"Okay, so your future was a mess. One minute I'm seeing the end of the world as we know it, then wolf-related nothingness, then happy families, and then you dying a horrible death at the hands of Jane."

"Is there a point to this story, or are you just showing off?" I interrupted eager to get back to my seat. Alice was not the person I wanted to be around while my world was imploding.

"The point I want to get across, is that it was Heidi and Demetri that finally cleared things up." I was stunned into silence by the sound of my lover's name coming out of the small Cullen's mouth. I decided to stay a little longer so I could hear more.

"Heidi told Demetri that you were in labor, and he decided to come back to Italy the second he found out you were giving birth. The Volturi had sent him on a mission to Japan once the doctor told them it wouldn't be long before the birth—"

I saw red. The doctor had never informed me that I was about to have my baby, but he had told the vampires. My regard for him dropped suddenly, and I couldn't believe I'd left Harry in his care for a half-second.

"Then Marcus told Heidi what Aro and Caius were planning, and she rushed off to Romania—"

"Why the hell would she run off to Romania?"

"Oh, she realised she would need help to get you and Demetri out of there—"

"She wanted to help us escape together?" Maybe Demetri had been right all along about them being friends. Certainly, that was not the act of a jealous ex—not that it mattered now anyway. My heart stuttered.

"You know, Leah? It's really hard to explain a story to you." The tiny vamp scowled at me, before her expression changed and she became talkative again. "Once she convinced the Romanians to help, she rushed back to Volterra. Luckily, before you gave birth and could phase again, Demetri had already decided he was going to bring you to Parma Airport and try and get you out of Europe. Then it all went black again."

I glowed inside as I realised how protective Demetri had felt towards me and his son, only to be crushed once more with the knowledge of his final demise.

"As soon as we had a place and even a likely time you would reach the airport, we were on the first plane to Italy. We've been hanging around the airport since we landed. You know I never thought I'd ever get tired of shopping duty free, but I almost did for a—"

I looked on as the clairvoyant vampire's eyes glazed over and her story abruptly ended. After a few moments, and a stolen glance at her brother, Edward, her attention returned to me.

"I just wanted to let you know that if it wasn't for Demetri and Heidi, we would never have found you, and I hate to think how things would have ended up."

"Yeah...thanks...for everything." I realised how close things had been and that without the Cullens I would still be wandering aimlessly through Europe. Or worse.

Alice got up and walked over to where her other brother sat, while I made my way back to my seat with a heart full of love for Demetri. For a moment, finding out what he would have done for his son and me almost banished the heaviness weighing on me now that he was gone. Thinking of Heidi's part in all this, too, I wished I'd given her more of a chance.

My mom reluctantly handed a sleeping Harry back to me, and then proceeded to tell me everything she knew or had ever heard about raising babies. Unfortunately, very little was about hybrids, so Jake turned round and added his two cents in, too. I expected it wouldn't be long before all the Cullens were giving me childcare advice.

I was grateful for all their help. After all I was going to have to learn to cope with life as a supernatural single mom pretty quick.

But right now, I just wished they'd shut up.

~X~

Edward's POV

I sat next to Bella and Rosalie. Bella's shield enveloped the entire plane, and for a while, I enjoyed having access to her thoughts. I kissed her hair, and she curled up on the restrictive seat, putting her head on my chest.

She was encroaching on Rosalie's space a little. When my sister's thoughts started getting a little loud, and she was wishing she hadn't sat with us just to have an aisle seat, I decided to see what the other passengers were thinking.

I checked in on Jasper. We'd seated him with the wolves to help him cope with the confined space on the plane. The wolf aroma was saturating him nicely, and I was pleased to see he had absolutely no desire to feed. The side of my mouth twitched in amusement.

I felt a little sorry for him, as in addition to the smell, I realised there was also a barrage of emotions flooding his way—mainly from Leah, her family, and Sam Uley.

Sam's thoughts were pretty loud. He was running over a million ways to approach Leah and ask her if she would come back to the pack. He'd been beating himself up over his past actions; it seemed he missed Leah doing that for him.

Leah herself was alternating between thinking about her new son and the events that had led to Demetri's destruction. I kept a close eye on Alice's visions for some clue as to what would come next from Italy, but the future was still constantly changing as someone struggled with their indecision.

Leah finally decided that the needs of biology outweighed the need to have her imprint with her at all times. When she got up, I checked in on Alice again.

Right now, Alice was regretting not buying a bag she'd seen at the airport; I was about to leave her mind when she got another flicker from Volterra. This time the vision of the future was firm.

The ruling threesome would become a foursome, with some surprising additions. I waited to see how that would change the vampire world, but the future began whirling again..

Leah returned to her seat after having a brief discussion with Sam, who had followed her. Neither really said what they were thinking, but at least it seemed that Leah was on friendlier terms with him than last time I'd spent any amount of time in her mind.

Alice stopped her and explained our presence in Italy. I noted that Leah was grateful—in her own particular style, though she understandably wasn't in the mood to talk.

While explaining the story, Alice had another vision from Volterra. I saw Caius, Heidi and the Romanians seated in a familiar hall in the Volturi stronghold. In Volterra, she saw fire and panic...humans running in fear as they were chased by dark and bloodthirsty figures.

Alice's eyes met mine across the plane, and I nodded to show that I'd also seen what she had. She finished her conversation with Leah and made her way to me.

Rosalie got out of her seat and went to join Emmett, who was making out that he needed to stretch his legs until, on seeing his wife, he got ideas about how to get his "blood" flowing in a different way.

I made a mental note to stay away from both their minds for a while.

There were some important things happening to keep my mind busy. Alice sat in the vacated seat. _I think we need to have a family meeting as soon as we get back home, _she told me mentally, until another vision violently assaulted her mind.

We saw the tracker's head being attached to his body and the choice he would be given. As the reattachment would not happen for another twelve hours, Alice could not see what way he would decide.

"We should tell her," Alice stated.

Her mind was then filled with an image of Leah broken and unmoving, lying in a ditch in the European countryside, and a crying toddler, young Harry, being carried away by dark shapes. It must have been inevitable for the vision to bypass the uncertainty that wolves created, which always resulted in breaks in her precognition.

"No, we will wait. Leah could probably do with a chance to catch her breath before we put more stress onto her. We'll make sure she comes to the meeting, seeing as she and her son are so involved."

Alice's vision changed again. This time, when she tried to think of Leah and Harry's future, all she could come up with was black. It was reassuring.

Alice's vision of Volterra seemed to spread quickly, until she was seeing vampire-related headlines from Italy, France, Spain, and Asia. It seemed that the new vampire order, and the demise of the Volturi, was going to have a profound effect on both vampires and humans, and not for the better.

I ran through everything I knew about the Romanian coven and their history. I suddenly wished the vision would change and the Volturi, as I knew them, would return. It seemed like Aro and Marcus had been the lesser of two evils, as Stefan, Vladimir, Caius and Heidi appeared to reside over a bloody empire consisting of most of southern Europe and the Balkans.

Alice's eyes grew wide, and we both stared in horror. We'd both learned our European medieval history from Carlisle and knew exactly how violent a vampire war could be.

Through Alice's mind, I saw a marble hall being repaired, an old inscription being erased and a new Latin motto put up in its place. _Ex cineribus renatus ad caelum volo_; risen again, out of the ashes and into the sky. And instead of the Volturi "V," they all wore a new symbol around their necks—a bird with wings outspread.

We even had a name to focus on now—Fenix. The new Volturi/Romanian alliance was a phoenix from the ashes, and signified the end of the world as we knew it.

~X~

**If you want to know more about the Romanians and the Volturi, then reading "The Burning of Lucius Demetrius Flavius," and specifically Chapter 5, will give you a better idea of how bad a vampire war can be and why the Romanians are so bad.**

THANKS ALSO FOR EVERYONE WHO VOTED FOR RED EYES AT THE GEM AWARDS. THE STORY WON THE 'BEST OVERALL' CATEGORY. I LOVE YOU GUYS - I REALLY DO. AND YES, I'M SHOUTING ;)


	21. Chapter 21 Rise and Fall

CHAPTER 21 – RISE AND FALL

~X~

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Many, many thanks to my lovely betas. Aro got a little crazy with his tenses, but thanks to these guys, he got reigned in. Naughty Aro!**

_They'll laugh as they watch us fall,_

_And the lucky ones, they don't care at all,_

_No chance for fate, its unnatural selection,_

_I want the truth._

Unnatural Selection, Muse

~X~

Aro's POV

No-one ever really appreciated how hard it was to keep a coven the size of the Volturi intact.

I had always felt like a father of a large and potentially unruly family, with my children having very different and conflicting personalities. Of course, my talent allowed me insight into exactly what I needed to give them in order to keep them under my roof—which was very important to me.

Our combined talents were what kept us together and powerful. When a talent dear to the family was lost, then we risked falling apart. I was sure no-one wanted to return to how things were during the Dark Ages. Such an unfortunate mess.

With Marcus' talent, I was at least able to keep a watchful eye on those who may be drifting away and do my best to make them happy, to make them realise that staying with the Volturi was their better option.

We were truly robbed when we lost Eleazar's talent for finding the exceptional. After he took his leave, we relied on guesswork and chance encounters. It was far from ideal.

If Marcus had left all those centuries ago, it would have been fatal for the Volturi. The loss of my dear sister, Didyme, was regrettable and may have seemed brutal to some, but the steps I sometimes had to take to keep us together were justified by the end results. It was such a shame my brother-in-law took the loss so badly and became a shadow of his former self.

I was always nervous of the closeness between Heidi, Demetri and Felix. Their bond was so strong it was as if they were a coven within a coven. Knowing that Heidi was always unhappy with the position she ended up occupying, I worried that she would use her sway over her male companions to hold some kind of coup.

Seeing how strongly she felt about Demetri, I knew my best option for keeping Heidi loyal was to keep _him_ happy with his situation. If he stayed, Heidi would, too.

The key to Demetri's happiness was always his libido. I could not pretend to approve of how he chose to conduct himself, but then a happy coven was a healthy, strong coven.

Of course, in keeping him...satisfied...I also managed to make sure he was distracted, and prevented any kind of mating bond with Heidi taking hold. It was a perfect scenario.

I became a little worried at how Demetri would cope with Jane's arrival, and her taking his position as head of the Volturi Guard. He was a little put out, but then, as I have said, the key to keeping Demetri loyal was always to keep him sexually satisfied. He soon recovered from the slight.

After the altercations with Carlisle Cullen's coven in the New World, it was apparent to me that a new era was beginning. I was sure that the Volturi had to change to ensure they remained at the forefront.

Change has never been easy for vampires, but I'd like to think that I was one of the more open minded of my kind. Two new types of being had been brought to my attention, and I was not going to allow my old friend, Carlisle, to be the only one from our world who understood half-breeds and shape shifters. After all, knowledge was power.

Originally, I had chosen Felix to impregnate a human. I always felt it was a shame that my son Felix had never found a mate, and Edward Cullen wasn't the only vampire with a taste for human women. Eventually, one conceived and survived long enough to give birth, and I was delighted.

The child was everything I expected or hoped for, and I looked forward to watching her _grow_—an alien concept in my world.

Caius, of course, was entirely opposed to my ideas; although he'd conceded that we did need to understand a little more about half-vampire, half-human offspring. He took a lot more convincing on the second half of my plan.

His irrational fear of wolves was becoming rather limiting, but not to know was to make ourselves vulnerable. I began to fear that Caius and his misgivings were becoming a liability, and that maybe the future of the Volturi did not include him.

And so I'd sent Demetri to America to find out a little more about the Quileute tribe that intrigued me.

Through the young Cullen's mind, the concept of imprinting and the shape shifters' unswerving loyalty had given me the most wonderful concept of guard dogs. They would certainly be an effective deterrent for potentially troublesome vampires. Also, it could only be to our advantage to know their weaknesses, should we ever have had occasion to exterminate the species.

Demetri was sent to observe at first, and then to judge whether any of their numbers may be controllable enough for us to study here in Volterra. In a perfect world, one of the wolves would have imprinted on him. I had seen that one of their pack was female and, knowing Demetri, I had actively encouraged her to be the focus of his attentions. He always did seem to have some success with the fairer sex.

After he revealed himself, it transpired that the idea did not sit well with the creature. Being ever resourceful, dear Demetri remarked that she seemed to respond to his attentions and, if given leave to remain in America, he might be able to gather information by convincing her to spend an extended period of time with him.

The plan initially worked well, and we learned much about their abilities, nature and pack structure.

I would never have foreseen the turn of events that followed.

After thousands of years of getting to know Demetri, I had thought it highly unlikely that he would ever become particularly attached to anyone other than Heidi, and I knew the nature of that bond. Their relationship had never been a problem, as I had always been able to manipulate it.

When I was informed that the creature was in fact pregnant, at first I found the idea utterly abhorrent.

Caius tried to persuade me that the aberration must be destroyed, and we ordered Demetri to bring the female wolf with him back to Italy. Of course, we did it under the guise of medical assistance as it seemed, over the phone, that they had developed some kind of friendship, and Demetri was concerned for the creature's well-being.

After giving the matter some thought, I decided if the wolves would not willingly agree to join the guard that a half-vampire wolf may be loyal to the Volturi and remain happily with the father. I became much more enthusiastic and decided to override Caius' insistence that it should not be allowed to survive.

What I was not expecting was to find that Demetri had fallen in love with the mother, and that he essentially thought of her as his mate.

Marcus was as surprised as I, once he revealed to me the nature of their bond, and it seemed Demetri's connection with us was waning. I'd always been fond of my ancient son and his tracking abilities. The threat of never being able to escape the Volturi had always been one of our greater strengths down the years, and I was not willing to lose him.

I had considered allowing the she wolf to live. After having the opportunity to gain access to her mind, which was very enlightening and all I'd really needed to understand the wolves, it became apparent that even using her affection for Demetri, she would be too feral for her presence in Volterra to be acceptable. Certainly, Caius refused to allow her underground.

At first, we used Chelsea to attempt to break their bonds while the wolf slept, but she always struggled once a relationship reached a certain level of intensity, and that approach failed.

I attempted to use Heidi's powers of persuasion, which I had used to control Demetri so often, but she was unwilling to do so. I should have taken that disobedience as a sign, but I was too distracted with thoughts of hybrids and the prospect of losing my tracker to look into what lowly Heidi was thinking.

In hindsight, that was my fatal flaw.

Demetri had chosen the wolf as his mate and there was little we could do to change his mind.

The she wolf was a different matter. The creature was very aggressive, but more fragile than she appeared on the outside, and very insecure. With a little encouragement from my darling Jane, we were able to drive a wedge between the two— based on truth, not deception, of course. Seeing the wolf's inability to accept the vampire diet and having the knowledge of what Demetri concealed gave us powerful ammunition.

The plan worked marvellously, and the dangerous relationship was ended.

The birth was as interesting as the half-human baby, although, this time, the mother survived due to her rapid healing abilities. Quite unfortunate—it would have been much easier had she perished. Still, we could always make it look as if she had died in childbirth, as we had ensured Demetri was not present.

When the human doctor had informed us that the birth was imminent, we had sent Demetri on a mission far away from home. We did not know that Heidi had telephoned him.

I'd yet to find out who had let slip to her what we'd intended, as I made sure both Heidi and Felix were unaware of how we planned to retrieve the new hybrid and dispose of the mother. It was a necessary precaution, given their loyalties to the father.

We had entered the room while still light, expecting to find the she wolf and her young recovering and not expecting our presence. To find Demetri already there, and in flagrant disregard of Volturi law, was such a disappointment. I doubted that he might be persuaded to see reason over the wolf even after she no longer existed. I did not want to lose his talent, but to destroy him was now a necessary evil if we wanted to keep the hybrid. We had numbers on our side.

Part of me wished that I could have allowed him to be with his odd mate and child, but to potentially give the Cullens the world's greatest tracker along with the half-wolf vampire would have been a folly.

Ah, such a shame, if only things had worked out a little differently, things would have been so much simpler. History has always been full of badly advised pairings, and people did not always choose sensibly.

The mother was also very protective of her young, and they proceeded to attack us. Jane, of course, successfully incapacitated Demetri, and Alec deprived the wolf of her senses. Demetri did not go down without a fight, but it was quite impossible to defend oneself effectively while under Jane's control.

Not that I had experienced it personally, only through the minds of others. It was quite beneficial to have been held in such high regard by my favourite daughter, although the nature of her adoration was rather inappropriate, given her physical age. If only we could have waited a few years longer before changing her.

Then something both wonderful and disastrous occurred. Before our eyes, the child transformed into wolf form. He was exceptional, and I could not ever remember being so thrilled with a discovery since Jane had joined our ranks.

Unfortunately, this shifting somehow returned the mother's vision despite Alec's powers, and she struck before Jane had the chance to neutralize her. To see my darling Jane's head between the animal's jaws in that way greatly upset me; I relied on her talent so much.

Of course, Heidi and Felix returned at that point and, as I expected, they acted in defence of Demetri's young. Demetri himself had already been dealt with by that point.

The wolf escaped out of the window with the child, and no doubt caused widespread panic throughout the town.

With only Caius and myself intact in the room, Heidi and her brutish friend had us cornered. Of course, Caius had proven himself to have some fighting instinct over the years, but I doubted his ability to tackle Felix on his own. An altercation between Heidi and myself would have been far more even.

And so we allowed her to talk and give her terms. If we took enough time, there was a chance some of the others might have shown up and given us the advantage once more.

Of course, she wanted Demetri put back together; that was her first condition and one I was willing to acquiesce to under the circumstances. The rest of what she demanded was utterly preposterous.

She addressed Caius, saying that she had fled and alerted the Romanians, and that they were currently dealing with the rest of the Guard who remained underground. I was enraged that she had agreed to assist them in removing us from power, in return for them fulfilling some conditions she had put forward.

I could not believe that she would be so foolish over one vampire. I had seen how she felt about him over the years. Demetri would never have become her mate, and certainly not now that he had chosen another. I could not understand why she would go to the extent she had to save him, or maybe his being beyond her reach had triggered the idea to remedy her position in the hierarchy of power.

She never did accept her role with the Volturi, thinking it was beneath her.

Heidi had lived through the Dark Ages and survived the vampire wars. She should have known exactly what would happen should the Volturi be overthrown and Stefan and Vladimir put up in our place. Did she not remember the horror in the Balkans? Or how the world was when vampires killed openly and dominated humans?

The Romanians had gained themselves quite a reputation amongst the human world, which some still remembered to this day, despite our attempts to disguise the truth as myth and superstition.

Certainly, the world was a much safer place in the Volturi's hands. I tried to explain this to her, but she would not listen. She knew, of course, that I would never allow what she had proposed—which was why she attempted to convince Caius, rather than myself.

He initially rejected what she said as ridiculous and entirely unacceptable; then, as she used my open-mindedness with regard to wolves and half breeds against me, I noticed him begin to waver. I reasoned with my ancient friend, but Heidi offered him the opportunity to remain in power as part of a ruling foursome, providing he destroyed me himself.

I never knew that she had such callousness in her nature, which was surprising as I had been party to her mind on many occasions. It seemed that seeing was not always enough, if you did not know what you were looking for.

Caius had always been so strict in upholding Volturi law, and I had hoped that he would not entertain the idea. But it seemed, by the way he looked at me, that I was mistaken.

I stared in disbelief and contemplated what lay beyond the end of my three thousand year existence on earth.


	22. Chapter 22 Safety in Numbers

CHAPTER 22 – SAFETY IN NUMBERS

**I don't own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Don't forget to check out the Twilight Original Character Awards. Follow them on Twitter on OC_Awards**

**Thanks to the usual guys, you know who you are. **

~X~

_No regrets,  
But I wish that you,  
Were here with me.  
Well, then there's hope yet.  
I can see your face,  
In our secret place,  
You're not just a memory.  
Say goodbye to yesterday,  
Those are words I'll never say._

This Used To Be Our Playground, Madonna

~X~

My beat up old car shuddered to a halt as I turned the key and pulled it out of the ignition. Holding the keychain in my mouth, I unclipped the second-hand car seat my mother had bought for me and grabbed the changing bag that now went with me everywhere.

Harry looked up at me and squealed. "Momma, keys!" He reached up towards my face.

"In a minute," I mumbled around the object of his desire. I struggled up the steps with my arms full of baby and accessories. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about what I was going to do once I reached the top, as Bella Cullen, holding a box filled with books, was there to open the door for me. I stepped through and dropped my bag once inside, and Bella zoomed off.

"Hey, Leah," she said as she passed by me.

Once inside, the first thing I noticed was that the smell didn't seem anywhere near as unpleasant as the last time I'd been here. Not that I'd been keen to come anywhere near the house; I'd kept my distance.

"Keys, Momma. Keys!" Harry reminded me and I relented. Immediately he went to put them in his mouth.

"Uh-uh! Not in your mouth. Naughty," I scolded him. Last time he'd bit them, he'd destroyed them, and I was on my spare set now.

Harry froze for a second; his golden eyes filled with tears, and his bottom lip began to tremble, but then the key jangled and snapped him out of his moment of self-pity. He began to shake the metal ring with fervour, and the noise gave him a wide toothy grin—it was impossible not to smile back.

The three days since his birth had been the craziest of my life, and _that_ was saying something, because crazy days weren't something my life lacked.

When I'd first gotten back to my mom's house, the relief at being home and safe had opened the floodgates, and I'd collapsed on the kitchen floor, sobbing while I rocked and held my baby to me. My mom had joined me and held me close while I let it all out.

He was gone. He was really fucking _gone_.

I was lucky that Harry was such a calm, easy-going baby and that he had such a great grandma, because that first night I was a wreck. By the next day, however, I'd cried myself out. Now there was just a constant numbness, which felt like a massive rock in my chest if I thought about Demetri too much.

The Cullens had given me a little time to settle before they'd asked me to come around for some big meeting they wanted to hold. Apparently, I needed to be there, but as yet I didn't know why. Whatever they were planning looked drastic, as pictures were being taken down from the walls and dust sheets put over various expensive looking items of furniture. It looked like they were moving on, and a number of questions began forming in my mind.

"Hello, Leah." Jasper walked past me with an armful of suit hangers, and then headed out to the yellow Porsche parked next to my little heap of junk outside. Alice skipped down the stairs smiling, and headed towards me before freezing.

"Oh no! They're going to get creased!" She looked back at me. "Two seconds." She rushed off after Jasper.

I stood there in the hallway and looked around, feeling entirely out of place with my faded car seat. Harry didn't seem to mind.

Two seconds later, Jake strolled in and saw me. "Leah, what are you doing standing round here? Come in the kitchen with me. We need to empty the fridge before we go." He looked quite excited about the prospect, and picked up my changing bag as he passed; I followed his lead.

"Before you go where?" I asked. Harry was still in the car seat, shaking my keys for all they were worth. At least he was easily amused.

"When the cars are packed up, we're gonna have a meeting and you'll find out then. It's time for the vampires to move on anyway, but Alice has seen something, and they want to do it sooner rather than later." We entered the kitchen and found a girl with reddish-brown hair, who looked around eight years old, sitting on a stool making sandwiches. Jacob walked past her and ruffled her curls.

"Quit it, Jake," she said flatly, before pressing a bear-shaped cutter into her completed sandwich. She popped it on a plate and held it out to Jake, who made a face before turning to Harry.

"Hey, squirt. You want a sandwich? Nessie made it in the shape of a bear, see?"

"Jake, he doesn't eat solid food yet. He's only...three days...old..." I stared in awe as Harry snatched the sandwich and made short work of it.

"O-kay...I think he likes bear sandwiches. Don't you, little guy? Don't you?" Jake amused himself by making faces, which Harry loved. "Jacob likes big, manly sandwiches—with crusts."

"You big, fat liar!" Nessie said to Jacob, before catching my eye and speaking to me. "He's the only one here who eats human food by choice. Why do you think we've got the cutter in the first place?"

"I'm the big, bad alpha wolf around here. I do _not_ eat bear-shaped sandwiches." Jake grinned at his imprint. "You'll ruin my image." Jake glanced in my direction. "It's her cutter. I promise."

I looked at Nessie again. "He totally does have bear sandwiches, doesn't he?"

The half-human vamp nodded her head. "All the time." She hopped off her stool and moved with vampire speed until she was by Jake, looking over the baby. She touched the side of Jacob's face.

I forgot she was some kind of telepath. Jacob answered whatever question she had asked. "No, you didn't grow quite _that_ fast, but Harry is half wolf and his gene has already kicked in."

"He has yellow eyes, and he doesn't drink blood. He's not like me at all. Is he coming with us?" Nessie looked up at me.

Before I could reply and tell her no, Doctor Cullen walked through the door.

"Leah, Jacob, Renesmee—would you like to join us in the dining room? We're ready to begin."

We followed the blond vamp into another room dominated by a large oval table. Emmett and Rosalie sat on the floor, and Edward indicated that we should take the empty chairs.

I took Harry out of the car seat and balanced him on my knee. He found a coaster and proceeded to chew it enthusiastically.

Nessie skipped over to the big vamp. "Let me squish in, Uncle Emmett." She sat on the floor between her vampire aunt and uncle.

Doctor Cullen stood up at the head of the table and began to speak. "Most of us already know what's going on, but for Leah's sake I will recap. There have been some catastrophic events in Italy, as I'm sure you're aware." The doctor looked at me sympathetically as my heart twisted. I noticed that Jasper clenched his fists, and Alice rubbed them in reassurance.

"As a result, the Volturi as we know it has been utterly destroyed, with very few members of the former surviving. A new order has been set up in its place. For those who know their vampire history, it goes without saying that having Romanians back in power will not be a good thing for anyone who wants to live in peace."

I looked around in confusion. It was annoying not being in possession of the information everyone else seemed to have. Was I here to tell them what I knew about my time in Italy? I hoped they weren't going to dredge it up again, because I could barely think about it at the moment, let alone say it out loud.

Edward caught my eye. "Leah, I will explain about what's happening in Italy later; it's a very long story."

Doctor Cullen continued his speech. "Alice has seen that if we remain here in Forks for much longer, we will be an obvious target. If we choose to move to Denali, the increase in numbers will certainly deter any kind of attack in the short term. So we are relocating immediately."

I piped up. "Wait—you're all going? What happened to keeping me safe?"

Alice spoke next. "That's why you're here. I can't see what you're going to decide, and it's all black from here, but I saw what would happen if we didn't involve you. It wasn't pretty."

"Leah," Carlisle addressed me directly, "we know it's a big step, but we would love it if you would come with us to Denali. The Fenix are still only small for now, so by creating a new, larger coven we have safety in numbers. Some members of the Fenix are still very interested in yourself and Harry. If you choose to come with us, we're working blind, but we are sure we will be able to protect you."

I was silent for a moment.

"Can't you see what I've already decided anyway?" I knew there were gaps in Alice's vision, the pack being one of them, but also that sometimes she seemed to magically find a way around them.

"No. Alice can't see around you very well; something about your ability to phase tampers with her vision. We're not forcing you into this; this is your choice," Esme said, from her seat beside Carlisle.

I thought in silence. I didn't even know where Denali was. What on earth would I do for money? I had a baby now, and there were practicalities to think about, like childcare and supporting myself. And what about my mom and Seth? I couldn't just up and leave them. Was Jake going?

"Alaska," Edward answered my unspoken questions. "And money really wouldn't be an issue, believe me. As for childcare...well, you're probably going to have a harder time fending the babysitters away."

The way Rosalie was looking at Harry, I could quite believe it. That vamp had serious issues.

"You would have some familiar faces with you. Jacob is coming, too; he's driving Billy up tomorrow. Bella is staying behind tonight to say goodbye to Charlie. You could travel with either of them," Edward continued.

Edward looked awkward and shifted in his seat; it seemed he wasn't happy about the arrangement. Surely after all that had gone on he wasn't worried about leaving Bella behind with a bunch of wolves. It wasn't like she was breakable any more. He looked up and caught me looking at him while he read my thoughts.

"Leave tomorrow?" I said out loud. "What about my mom and my brother? What about Charlie? You're just leaving them behind?"

"Charlie will want to come, too. It will be a few years before he retires, but he'll ask Sue to come with him. Seth...I really don't know, because I can't see," Alice explained.

My head whirred. It felt strange making decisions based on things that hadn't yet come to pass.

"Leah's a little overwhelmed right now," Jasper drawled. "I think Leah and I could both benefit from her having a little time to think on the offer."

He was right, and I was grateful that he'd spoken up for the both of us.

Alice gasped. "Leah, don't wait too long to decide." She looked at Edward, and I decided the whole secret psychic bond thing was highly annoying.

"Do you think overnight is long enough, Leah? I'm sorry to put this on you, but if you knew what you were dealing with you'd appreciate our urgency." Carlisle looked at me with concerned eyes. Again, I knew there was more background to all this than they were telling me. It was starting to piss me off.

I pursed my lips and thought. Did I need overnight? What was there to hold me here? It sounded like my mom would join us in a few years, anyway. I no longer had a job, and I'd dropped out of my college course. Did I really want Harry to face the harsh reality of life growing up on the res?

If I stayed, I would have the pack to protect me, but if I went, then I'd have a fresh start for me and Harry—away from Sam and the rest of the painful memories that lurked around every corner.

Fuck it. I was going. I knew Jake, and at least Harry would have a little hybrid friend to grow up with, not to mention the best in supernatural medical care.

Alice clapped and jumped up and down in her seat. "Everything just went black; you're coming with us! You've made the right decision, I promise you."

I eyeballed her, but she didn't seem to notice. I was tempted to change my mind out of principle, as psychics telling me what I was going to do and mind-reading vamps snooping in my head were already starting to get under my skin.

"That's settled then. Leah, I'm so pleased you are going to join us. I'm sure between you, Bella and Jacob that you can sort out your travel arrangements. I look forward to seeing you in Alaska." Carlisle ended the meeting, and the Cullen family got up and went back to packing. It amazed me how quickly a house could be emptied.

So that was it; Harry and I were going to go live in Alaska with a bunch of vegetarian vamps and my former alpha.

I followed Jake back into the kitchen, and we had a few more hybrid-made, bear-shaped sandwiches before we left.

One by one, the Cullens' cars were driven, fully laden, away from their abandoned residence. Jake seemed to have real trouble waving Nessie off, as she climbed into Edward's swish-looking sports car. Edward, too, seemed reluctant to go.

Eventually, all that was left was myself, Harry, Jacob and Bella, and behind us were my hunk of lead, Jacob's fabled Rabbit, and the Cullens' Mercedes. I was thankful that at least one car was on par with mine, and it wasn't the Merc. I eyed Bella's ride enviously and wished that it wasn't the Rabbit that resembled mine.

"Um, I'm going to go see my dad. I can come by the border in the morning," Bella said to me. "By the time Jacob fits his stuff in the car and his dad's wheelchair, I can imagine that is going to be kind of cramped. There'll be plenty of room in mine."

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you in the morning. About ten?"

"Yeah, cool."

I got into my car, strapping Harry's seat in securely. What was I going to do with my beat up, old vehicle? I guessed Seth could do with a ride; I could leave it for him. I was going to have to travel light—not that I had a lot of possessions, of course.

Turning the key in the ignition, my car fired into life, and I drove back to my mom's for my final night living in La Push, Washington.

~X~

Jacob POV

I turned to Bella as I watched Leah drive away.

"I thought you'd already said goodbye to Charlie?"

"Yeah, but Leah doesn't know that. Sam has allowed me to hang around La Push tonight. I've got to make sure she's under my shield at all times, or else the tracker will find her."

"The tracker? Her boyfriend? I thought he was dead?" I looked at my vampire friend in confusion.

"That's what Leah thinks, too. It totally sucks that we can't tell her, but it's really important that neither of them knows that the other is alive at the moment. If either of them find out, they'll want to be together, and right now that won't end well. The only way for them to be together is to wait until it happens naturally."

I frowned. "So let me get this straight. She wants to be with him, he wants to be with her, and they have a baby together, but you've decided to keep them all miserable thinking the other is dead, and all for their own good? Jeez, Bella, you're fitting into this whole vampire control-freak thing really well."

Bella rolled her eyes. "It's not like that, Jake. Demetri's every move is being followed at the moment. Alice is keeping on every decision being made by the Fenix, and Demetri and Felix. If he finds her, they will follow him over here, and then _everyone's_ future goes blank, even the Denali's. We're not saying we'll never let him find her; Alice can see that they will give up eventually. It's cruel, but we didn't decide to do it lightly."

"Oh...right. That really blows."

I stood and thought for a moment, as Bella took off through the trees to ensure Leah stayed within range. Edward wasn't happy about leaving her, given the current level of alert, but it wasn't like she was here alone. I found it slightly insulting that he would think I would allow anything to happen under my watch.

I felt for Leah. I knew only too well that thinking the person you loved was dead hurt like hell, and how my former beta could react when upset. It would be nice not to be the only wolf in Alaska, though. Maybe myself, Leah and Harry could be a pack, seeing as the half-vamp baby could phase, too.

It could work, so long as Leah was more like she'd been while Bella was pregnant, not how she was before. I didn't know how thinking about her vampire boyfriend was going to affect her state of mind. She didn't seem to be reacting the same way as she had over Sam, but then right now I wasn't seeing what was inside her head. Maybe being a mom was keeping her calm.

How on earth was I going to keep what I knew out of my head if we were a pack? Maybe that would be the accident that would finally let her know the truth? Part of me hoped so. I didn't like the idea of the cover up, and I thought it was only fair she found out sooner rather than later.

The whole situation sucked.

~X~

Leah POV

My mom had been frantic when I told her; there had been tears, and lots of them. She understood eventually, though, and she wanted Harry and me to be safe.

I pretty much knew that if Charlie did ask her to move up to Alaska, so they could be with their children and grandchildren, my mom would say yes in a heartbeat. I reassured myself that living so far away was only going to be a short-term thing.

Seth wasn't happy. He wanted to come with us, but Mom dug her heels in on that one—there was no way she was being robbed of all her babies at once. My younger brother complained that I'd only just come back home and he'd missed me. He wanted to follow Jake like a little puppy, too, and the Cullens.

It was hard to say no, but I guessed if Mom was moving north eventually, then that would probably mean he would come as well. I could see how the whole seeing into the future thing had benefits; it certainly made me feel better about saying goodbye.

I'd gotten into the car with my mom and Seth, and they'd driven me to the treaty line. Not that it was specifically a treaty line these days—more a line of courtesy; the vamps didn't cross it without prior warning.

For me it was very symbolic. This was where my old life ended, and my new life started. If I crossed, would there be any going back?

Charlie was there with Bella when I arrived, and he helped Seth load my bags into the back of the Mercedes. Charlie and Bella conversed with their usual emotionally-repressed awkwardness, while I gave my mom and brother their final hugs.

That's when I smelled him.

I turned around apprehensively to see Sam running out from the woods, barefoot and in his usual cut-offs. "Leah!" he shouted, and then paused while he jogged up to where I stood. "You're going? Weren't you even going to say goodbye?"

"Sam..."

We both stood there in awkward silence, unsure what to say and what we really shouldn't admit.

"You know—"

"I didn't—"

We both spoke at the same time. I motioned that Sam should speak first.

"You know, we could keep you safe here. Please don't leave La Push. I—I..." Sam went silent. He never was the wordy type. I got what he meant.

My heart twisted in my chest, and I looked away until I could speak again. "Yeah." I paused for a moment. He knew me well enough to know that was an admission that I would miss him, too. He was a loved one that I knew _wouldn't_ be moving closer in the future. This was a final goodbye.

Sam looked at me with panic on his face. "Leah."

"I have to do this. It will be better...for everyone." I looked him in the eye. It would be better for me and him most of all. I knew from experience that for me and Sam, distance helped. Thanks to my more recent loss and heartbreak, I felt less angry and resentful about my former alpha and lover. "Keep an eye on Seth for me...and I hope that you and Emily...that things are really good...and you have a really long time together—"

By now, my pain was threatening to take me over. Remembering Demetri and saying goodbye to Sam was knocking the bottom out of my world.

Sam did something really unexpected and gave me a huge hug, my head crushing into his bare chest. I wanted to give in and hug him back, like I had many times in the past, but the barrier put up by hurt and pain was still there.

"Take care, Leah. And I'm really proud. You'll be a great mom."

Eventually, he let me go. I saw that the car had been loaded, and they were now waiting for me and Harry to climb inside. I walked over and took my son from his grandma, and then fastened him in the car seat in the back. He was going to need a new one soon; my baby was growing up too fast.

After one final hug from my mom and brother, I climbed inside the car, buckled my seatbelt and wound the window down.

"Call when you get there," my mom said. I noticed her eyes were red-rimmed and glassy. Charlie put an arm around her shoulders and stood there with an unreadable look on his face. Seth was full-on bawling.

Bella put the car into drive and we pulled away onto the road. Looking behind me in the mirrors, I saw Sam jog back into the trees, and my mother and brother still waving. Harry chuckled and caught my eye, and so I entertained myself by playing with him until he drifted off to sleep.

We got further and further away from Forks, heading towards Alaska and my new life.


	23. Chapter 23 Alone

CHAPTER 23 – ALONE

**I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks to my betas-I think you guys are awesome and I can't express my gratitude enough. Same to my readers and reviews. Feel the lurve!  
**

_I am milk,  
I am red hot kitchen,  
And I am cool,  
Cool as the deep blue ocean ._

_I am lost,  
So I am cruel,  
But I'd be love and sweetness,  
If I had you._

_I'm waiting,  
I'm waiting for you.  
I'm aching,  
I'm aching for you._

Milk, Garbage

_Five years later..._

I lay in my bed and turned to look at the clock once more. Seth had come visiting over Harry's birthday weekend, and I'd reluctantly allowed my son to stay out late.

The wolf boys were out in the woods, doing whatever it was that wolf boys did on their birthdays, without their mom, sister, or female beta getting in the way and diluting the testosterone. I would find out tomorrow via the pack mind.

The clock told me that it was a quarter to midnight. After an agonizingly long time it changed and told me it was eleven-forty-six.

It was too late for a five-year-old to be out, even if that five-year-old was seven feet tall, looked five times older, and was built as if he was in the gym all day, every day. He could still expect the parental lecture from me as soon as he walked through the door.

I'd told him to be home by eleven-thirty, and I was growing anxious

Just because he towered over me didn't mean I wasn't in charge. I didn't tolerate any back talk, even if he was my imprinted son, and the light and meaning in my life.

Harry didn't like my over-protectiveness; I saw what he was thinking every time we were both in wolf form. But I also saw the love and respect he had for me, and how 'good' of a man he was growing up to be. Despite being half-vampire and half-shape-shifter, my son was no monster.

I was pretty proud of the job I'd done raising Harry single-handedly, although I guessed I'd had a lot of help from Jacob and the Cullens. He was remarkably even-tempered for a wolf, although very much one of the boys and a little boisterous. I could see his father in his charming, mischievous smile; it still tugged at my heartstrings, even now.

He did not inherit his father's diet. My son had absolutely no urge to drink blood; it turned his stomach as much as it did mine. Instead, he had an immeasurable capacity to eat human food, and I was glad that I had the access to the culinary skills of Esme and Bella Cullen. Cooking wasn't my forte, but the vampires got some strange kind of kick out of preparing food that they would never eat themselves.

I had begun to get over my reliance on the Cullens for money, protection, and a roof over my head. It had been hard to accept at first, but to see Harry with the best of everything was worth it. My son would never have to make do like I'd had to when I was younger.

I just wished that I'd brought him into the world during safer times, but I guessed that it was his birth that brought the whole situation about.

Europe had gone crazy, and there was currently a human-vampire war raging. So far America had stayed out of it, and an internal political battle was waging over whether it was better to seal the borders or help out at great financial and human cost. The nuts either wanted to be one of the undead themselves, or encouraged some kind of truce. My opinion was that they should be sent to Europe to see why that was such a crazy idea.

I could not see how anyone would want to be involved in the bloodbath across the Atlantic, or think that volunteering to be cattle could equate to peace.

Like other sensible covens, we hid ourselves, as humans had discovered artillery was an effective way to destroy vamps. Shape-shifters had kept themselves out of the public eye, and humans didn't know we existed; we intended on keeping it that way.

The Cullens were ridiculously generous, and they had built Jake and me a cabin each, set a little way from the main Cullen and Denali mansions. The Denalis still hadn't gotten accustomed to our own particular brand of wolf perfume, and it kept us from causing interference with Alice's vision, too.

Also, I was grateful for the space from Alice and Tanya. For all I loved and appreciated the tiny Cullen for what she'd done, I could only stand being around her for short periods of time. She was just too goddamn "up" all of the time. The omniscient thing was getting kind of old, too.

As for Tanya, there was no way in hell I was letting her get anywhere near my boy. I'd seen the way she'd started looking at him once he'd neared maturity.

I knew about her reputation as a succubus. She liked her guys warm, just like Harry. I _liked_ the idea of putting my fist in her face, as the older Harry got, the more interested the vamp became. No woman or bloodsucking whore was good enough for my boy. Tanya disliked me just as much in return, or so it seemed. We decided it was best for us all if we kept a little distance.

My new home was modern and tastefully decorated, thanks to Esme. I refused to allow Alice to have any involvement in the interior decoration, no matter how much she whined and pleaded. Over the years I'd added my own little touches, and it was very much where the heart was for me and my growing son.

Well, most of my heart. The parts that weren't broken and trampled.

Harry couldn't remember his father, only the glimpses he saw via the pack mind. He was always curious and asked questions. While I loved that he was interested, the pain was still intense.

A familiar hollow feeling returned to my chest and, before I could help it, my thoughts returned to Demetri.

Happy memories of New York and our journey across country. Demetri lying headless on the floor of the room I'd given birth in only hours previous. The same room in which I'd flung glasses and screamed at him.

My goddamn last words to Demetri had been, "What the hell is going on?" as he'd defended me. I wished they had been more appropriate—something like, "I love you," or, "I will miss you, always."

Fate was a bastard like that.

My mind wandered, and I remembered the feel of his cold lips on mine. I closed my eyes and tried to lose myself in the moment.

It had been a long time since I had been kissed. After Sam and Demetri, I was determined that there would be no other man in my life other than my not-so-little boy.

I couldn't do it anymore. I didn't want to put myself on the line to end up destroyed again. I had my imprint; so far as I was concerned, my heart was now closed off to romantic love. Men could go screw themselves—I wasn't interested.

Not that it was an issue in the closed-off community I now lived in. These were suspicious times, and we grew extremely wary of any strange vampire that stumbled on our territory. The only visitors we ever got were shape-shifters from Forks, Mom and Charlie, and a couple of red-eyed vamps Jasper knew from way back.

I understood more than ever why the Volturi and their law of secrecy had been so important to the vampire world.

My chest burned, but now that I'd opened the door slightly, hundreds of repressed memories came flooding into my conscious mind. Demetri talking about nothing much in particular. Demetri lying on the bed next to me, just looking. Demetri laughing as he felt Harry move. Demetri touching me in other ways...

My emotional pain intensified into physical pain and I tried to think of something, anything else.

The clock told me it was now eleven-fifty-five.

That was it—I was going out to look for Harry. Grateful for the distraction, I got up out of bed, grabbed my phasing pouch and some clothes to stuff inside, and ran downstairs. I opened the glass door, and leaped off the porch onto the grass beyond, not bothering to get undressed. Before my feet touched the earth, I was a wolf.

I sniffed the air as I listened out for the pack mind. Wherever they were, they weren't in wolf form. Harry, Jacob and Seth's scents were coming from the direction of the Cullens' house, and so I followed their trail.

I padded up slowly to the building. The lights in the living room were on, and I could see that most of the others had gathered there, and were watching my son versus Emmett on some computer game. Both large boys were jumping around and flailing their arms.

In wolf form, I stood and watched them for a while from outside. All faces were smiling. There was not one of them with a frown, or any kind of hint that they were less than blissfully happy.

The pain returned.

And then I made a split second decision.

Harry was safe with the Cullens for a short while. How long had it been since I'd let go and really run? Sure, I galloped now and again, but I'd never run as if the devil had been chasing me. The last time it hadn't been snow underfoot; the sun had been beating down on me, and I'd been fleeing across Italy to safety.

So I turned away and swiftly bounded into the trees to the left of me. I dodged the trunks and enjoyed the wind running through my fur as I covered ground as fast as I was able. Alaskan countryside was breathtaking, and I liked the way my wolf colouring blended into the landscape.

As I ran, I remembered running to New York with Demetri and tried to deceive myself that this was that time, and that things had never gone sour. I did such a good job at convincing myself that I could almost imagine him running through the forest here with me.

Suddenly, I changed direction at right angles, as he'd always done to annoy me and smiled inside as my legs struggled to keep up with the rest of me. I fired ahead again enjoying the exhilaration of speed.

Finally, I noticed that there was less snow. I didn't know how long I had run, so I stopped and tried to get my bearings, sniffing around and trying to look for signs of habitation. The unmistakeable orange glow in the distance told me I was near a city or major town, but which one?

As I pondered, I became aware of the sound of rushing feet.

I turned and snarled, as I knew the sound of a running vampire only too well.

Before he came into sight, I backed down as soon as I smelled who it was—the only one out of the Cullen-Denali coven fast enough to keep up with me.

_Can't a wolf get a little privacy now and again? Why did you follow me?_ I thought, knowing he would hear me. The thoughts I didn't specifically aim at him told him I was grateful that I might have someone close who knew where we were.

"Sorry, Leah. It's not safe to be going off so far on your own." Edward looked awkward.

I snorted. _Yeah right, don't let the unstable she wolf more than a mile out of sight at any time. Don't think I haven't heard through Jacob's thoughts. I know the instruction._

"Yes...it's not just you. It's Harry, too. We just want to make sure you're safe and nothing bad happens, Leah. You trusted us to look after you; that's just what we're doing."

_I get that. But seriously? Following me on a run? Did Alice see that the Fenix were coming or something?_

"No, but with the holes in her vision around wolves, it's never one hundred percent safe."

I then heard more feet, and Alice and Bella also joined us.

_Great. Family reunion. Bring a couple more and we could have a party._

"Leah! Why did you run off like that?"

I thought my usual response to Alice's nosiness, and looked at Edward in amusement to see how he would translate that into something he was prepared to say out loud.

"Ah...Leah just wanted some fresh air," he finally said. I snickered as well as I could in wolf form. He was intruding on my thoughts; I wasn't going to start thinking politely for his sake.

_Okay, I get it. Time to go home. What direction?_

Edward pointed over his right shoulder, and the four of us set off together. As we ran I was sure I heard Edward, Alice and Bella talking in the way they always did when they didn't want to be heard.

I did catch a few lines.

"Out of range."

"He heard."

"Made a decision."

Edward ignored my mental demands to know what the hell they were talking about.

~X~

Demetri POV

I slammed my victim against the brick wall and bit into his jugular. He struggled, but I held him still with my steel grip. His efforts were barely a distraction as the fluid hit my throat, and I closed my eyes while everything was temporarily okay in my world.

Part of me wished that I had never been put back together.

Now, for the first time, I understood Marcus and the Edward Cullens of this world. My undead existence was now cold and hollow. My world had crashed down around me, and to have my so-called life brought to an end would release me from the loss I felt.

Not that I was the suicidal type; I had my own coping mechanisms.

Blood was the only thing that took away the pain. It helped me forget. As such, I was more brutal and bloodthirsty than I'd ever been in my almost two thousand years on this earth.

I'd woken up in Leah's room in Volterra to find that the Volturi was no more, and that Caius and Heidi had set up an alliance with the Romanians. My first question had been to inquire whether Leah and Harry had escaped, and my heart soared when I discovered that they had.

But then, it had fallen back to earth when I couldn't locate them. I couldn't hear them anywhere in the world.

Her scent trail ended in a conveniently private clearing, and there had been evidence of a cover up. Deer blood had been smeared everywhere, and beyond that clearing there was no trace of Leah or our child.

I had searched all the records I could to try to find out what had happened once she had left the room. It seemed that she had caused widespread panic in Volterra, and wolf sightings had been reported most of the way to Parma.

Then nothing.

I had two theories. Caius had convinced the others to carry out her death and make it look as if she'd escaped, or the Cullens had taken her.

I was accustomed to not hearing the mental voices of the Olympic Coven now that they had found their shield, and so I watched the area closely. It seemed that they had left the US and moved back to Alaska, as the Denali Coven had also disappeared off my radar.

I found it highly unlikely that both groups had perished without the involvement of the Fenix. Two sizeable covens disappearing in that way spoke volumes; it was a distinct, defensive action. Heidi had been very interested when I'd told her.

Of course, the psychic would have been able to see the demise of the Volturi and the new alliances. There was no doubt that change was coming.

It was a possibility that Leah was with them, and I kept my attention on the area intently. Occasionally, I would notice the occasional Cullen drift in and out of my consciousness, but never _her_. Also, the rest of the shape shifters, with the exception of the one that was always with the Cullens, were still in La Push. Leah's mother and her brother rarely left the area, and Leah never came to visit.

Eventually, I gave up hope and decided that my Caius theory was more viable. Without proof and with the strength of his new position, I could not take out my vengeance on him.

Heidi had pleaded with me to stay in Volterra and be captain of the new Guard—I'd refused.

Still, we parted on friendly terms, and Heidi assured me that if I ever needed her assistance, it would be given. She even said that the jet was still at my disposal, should I ever need it. I'd not included her in my conspiracy theories about Caius' involvement in Leah's death.

Felix had also refused the offer to remain. After being threatened, Caius was keen to have Felix far out of his sight, and he had no interest in the half-human hybrid. Heidi convinced him to let us all go in peace, and so I'd chosen to become a nomad with Felix and his daughter.

He had been patient with me for a long time, looking at me with pity when he saw me falling apart. It was that look that had finally made me decide to leave them both and travel on my own.

I kept tabs on them. They were currently in China, but they moved around a lot.

I tried to fill my time in much the same way as I had back in the days when I'd roamed Northern Europe hunting the Children of the Moon, but something within me had changed. I could not be the carefree vampire I had once been.

All the things I'd previously found pleasurable suddenly seemed to leave me feeling very empty and unfulfilled. Where once there had been enjoyment and passion, now there was only the sense of loss and the feeling that something was not quite right.

I knew exactly what it was that was missing.

If ever I looked in a mirror, which I rarely did these days, I barely recognised myself. I neglected my own upkeep, and I became smeared in dirt and dried blood. My clothes were becoming worn and shabby, but I did not care. I couldn't bring myself to be bothered about anything but the acuteness of my own misery.

Blood cleared my mind for an hour or two, so I fed often. Now that the Fenix abolished the law of secrecy, I was free to do so however, whenever, and in whatever manner I pleased. Old habits died hard; I found it difficult to become accustomed to not hiding what I was, and I never killed openly.

Also, it seemed that humans were not as helpless as they had been; modern weapons were capable of destroying us. I kept myself hidden, although at times the idea of going out in a blaze of glory tempted me; I could never waste the gift of immortality, no matter how painful endless life became.

I did use the opportunity to bask in the warmth of the sun that I'd missed so much from my human years once or twice. The experience had left me cold when it reminded me that I felt warmer when I was with Leah. The dark mirrored my own inner blackness, and through my own choice, I continued to shun the light and existed in the shadows that were familiar to me.

As I was draining the final drops from the human corpse, alarm bells sounded inside my head. I dropped my victim and got to my feet in shock.

Finally, I'd lost my mind and had gone completely mad; I could hear her voice.

I stood motionless and continued to listen, arguing with myself whether or not this was real or a figment of my own imagination.

I'd almost convinced myself that it was genuine, when as soon as she had appeared, she was gone again. Waiting in the alley, I paused while I waited for Leah to reappear and confirm her existence, but she did not.

Eventually, I slumped to the floor and mourned another loss; this time it was my sanity that had been taken from me. I roared in pain at the wrenching sensation in my stomach and my chest. Anything Jane had ever thrown at me was nothing compared to the hurt of having my unhealed wound ripped open.

Days passed by, and the bleakness was finally starting to even out to its usual level when I heard her again.

I not only heard Leah, but I heard the entire Cullen and Denali covens. It was only for a minute or two, but it was enough to know that it was true.

She was alive and had been with the Cullens all along. My son was with her. That knowledge sent me on an emotional rollercoaster. Confusion, elation, suspicion, happiness, pain...

The most overwhelming sensation I felt was to run to Italy, ask Heidi to use the jet to travel to America, and go to her—immediately. But then I caught myself.

If she was with the Cullens, specifically the small female that could see the future, then why hadn't she sent for me? The psychic would know that I was alive, surely.

_Maybe the psychic hadn't thought to look for you?_ one side of me had responded. That only begged the question of why hadn't Leah asked?

I looked down at myself and discovered the answer to my questions.

I was a monster. I was a blood-drinking beast, and not good enough to deserve Leah. She didn't want me—there were no more chances left. The she wolf didn't want to be with a murderer.

I had never doubted myself before I had become entangled with the she wolf, but she'd given me an education about my nature and what I was capable of. That lesson had shaken the very core of my nature and changed me irreparably.

The question was, could a two-thousand-year-old vampire take that lesson and learn new tricks, or was I frozen with no chance of moving forward?

The thought tortured me, but one thing I did know was that I had to at least try.


	24. Chapter 24 Baseball

CHAPTER 24 - BASEBALL

**I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thanks to Solareclipses, Nowforruin, and TheRainGirl for their help on this chapter. I'm gonna miss working with you guys when this comes to an end.**

_I'm miles from where you are,  
I lay down on the cold ground,  
And I, I pray that something picks me up,  
And sets me down in your warm arms._

Set Fire to the Third Bar, Snow Patrol

Leah's POV

_Five years later..._

Although I was on the opposing side, I couldn't help but cheer as the apple of my eye stepped up to bat. I wasn't the only one. The strawberry blonde to my right jumped up and down clapping her hands, while still stuck on second base. She avoided my glare.

"Thanks, Mom." Harry grinned back at me, winking at the redhead.

I'd made him promise me that he'd wait until he was at least eighteen before he started dating. At ten-years-old in terms of time on earth, he now looked as if he'd already made a choice and decided on a mate. My rules seemed a little unfair, even to myself, and I hoped he wouldn't resent me for making him wait when he'd already shown such a preference.

It was obvious, too, that the "girl" returned the interest.

I couldn't blame her, though I wanted to kill her for it. My son was quite possibly the most perfectly formed being on earth. Well okay, I was a little biased, but it wasn't far from the truth. He was now the same height as Jacob, who was in the outfield in wolf form with Seth. Harry had muscles any self-respecting shape shifter would be proud of, and when he phased his fur was black and silver.

When human, he was stunningly beautiful, and never ceased to amaze me. He had my red skin, albeit with a vampire sheen and was as solid as granite. His smiling face was handsome, with my high cheekbones and his father's boyish charm. But what I loved most about my son's appearance was his wide, exotic, golden eyes that were completely at odds with his Native American features. He was eclectic, but perfect.

Harry now swung his bat with the flair that Jasper had taught him as he stepped up, beaming widely. Emmett and Jasper were in charge of Harry and Nessie's sports classes, and it seemed that showboating was part of the curriculum.

He stopped showing off and readied himself for the evil pixie to pitch. I hated baseball, almost as much as I hated Alice fussing over me.

She had been exceptionally attentive today. Out of the entire coven, she was the one that tested my patience the most. If she'd had her way, she would have had me playing the game in evening wear. Earlier, she'd been skipping around me, trying to fuss with my hair and apply makeup—before I'd snarled and told her I was perfectly capable of choosing my own outfit to play a goddamn "happy families" game of baseball.

Her irrepressible enthusiasm had been too much for me, and I'd relented and allowed her to at least apply a little lipstick, just to keep her away. She had won...this time. I felt ridiculous; after all, everyone here saw me on a daily basis and knew exactly what I looked like.

Seth couldn't bear to be left in La Push without his best friend, sister, and nephew. If I hadn't known better, I would have sworn he _chose_ to imprint on a human girl from Anderson on one of his stopovers. Once that had happened, there was no keeping him away, and another cabin had been built alongside Jake's and mine.

Dezzy, the human girl in question, sat watching the game with Mom, Nessie, and Charlie.

If I was honest, I was glad to have my brother around; the pack worked well, and I appreciated being Jacob's beta. As I had always said, Jacob was a good alpha, and there was rarely a need for discipline. It was as harmonious as you got with a female wolf around.

If it wasn't for the ever present threat from Europe, we would have been, for the most part, peaceful and content. As yet, the States were uninvolved with what was happening across the ocean. The existence of vampires was no longer a secret; the Cullens and Denalis stayed hidden from public view and no longer tried to mingle with human society.

Apparently, if you counted the wolves, half-human vampires, and half-vampire wolves, we were now the largest coven in the world, with the exception of the Fenix. The numbers worked well for supernatural baseball. All supernatural creatures loved baseball. Well, except me...but I played because Harry did.

Alice wound up and let the ball fly. The bat connected with the ball perfectly; Bella and Edward sprinted in a blur to collect it, while my son moved around the bases with vampire speed. Edward got there first, after the ball hit the ground, and threw it back in, before freezing with a strange expression on his face.

He rushed back, followed by his wife, and the game paused for a while.

"Someone's coming," he said, before turning to look at me with concern.

My heart stopped for a second. They were coming—they'd found us. The Fenix had decided that taking on the Denali coven was worth the trouble to take my perfect son away from me. I fought the tremors and rushed to take a defensive position in front of my son, who towered over me.

"Mom?" Harry questioned my actions.

I noticed Alice was starting to get all excited at the edge of the crowd—the high pitched squeal and the maniacal grin were a dead giveaway. She'd obviously seen something and had decided not to make the rest of us party to it. Edward, however, could read his sister's mind.

"It's safe," he told us all. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Leah, give him a chance to speak. Everything will be fine."

"Give who a chance to speak?" I snapped, before my question was answered.

I lurched backwards in shock, sure that I was seeing a ghost.

There, at the edge of the snowy clearing, stood an all too familiar vampire, dressed in his usual charcoal grey, with his fair hair and handsome features.

My heart rate quadrupled, and a cold sweat ran up my spine. I felt dizzy and nauseous. He was dead—well, more dead than he had been before, wasn't he? Yet my eyes did not deceive me.

I looked at Edward and Alice, who could barely contain herself.

A thousand emotions hit me at once. Disbelief, ecstasy, mistrust, incredulity, anger, admiration, and love—to name a few. But most of all, I felt crushing pain and fear that the father had come to claim his son. My son. _Our_ son. I feared that Demetri would take him away from me to Italy.

"Give him a chance," Edward reminded me. "He's not here to take him away. Speak to him."

"Mom? Edward?" Harry asked.

"Harry," I began, "would you like to come with me to meet your father?"

My son reeled, and I panicked that I had upset him. "But...Dad's dead." He looked as confused as I felt, but after a few moments, he recovered himself, and held out his hand to me. My son's eyes mirrored the emotional maelstrom in my own.

We slowly headed across the field to the figure on the opposite side, who had also begun to move toward us. Each of us was capable of moving much more swiftly, but felt unsure as to what awaited us and delayed the inevitable.

As I got closer, I noticed that he'd barely changed at all in ten years. My breath still caught in my throat at the sight of him; part of me wanted to tear him apart, while the other wanted to hold him and never let go.

He was still inhumanly beautiful; he was still Demetri, apart from one thing—his eyes.

"Leah," he began, his voice strained. It sounded strangely familiar.

"Demetri," I replied hesitantly. "Harry, this is your father. Demetri, meet your son."

An emotional silence stretched between us, before the vampire extended a hand to our offspring. Harry grasped it tightly, and for a while neither let go, until Harry moved in and gave his father a bear hug. They hugged tightly, before patting each other on the back in a more manly fashion.

I guessed that there was no set way to react in these situations, and we had to make the script up as we went along.

Another awkward silence began before Demetri spoke up. "So are you being well-behaved for your mother?"

Harry laughed. "Yes and no." My son smirked. "But she's the best."

"I know," Demetri agreed in a strange voice, staring at me. I couldn't think of the words to express the conflicting emotions whirring around my brain. The metaphorical tumbleweeds started blowing once more, and Harry shifted uncomfortably, looking at me first and then his father.

"Erm, Dad?" he began awkwardly, relaxing a little when he realised the word wasn't painful. "Are you staying for a while? Because it seems like you and Mom need to talk. And, Mom, is it okay if I ride home with Tanya, Jake, and Nessie? It looks like we're packing up."

I looked over to where the rest of the coven were loading up the various vehicles we'd arrived in with the equipment. As I did, I caught sight of Nessie and her distended belly, before Jacob came up behind her and caressed it. The tender moment between mother and father-to-be took me back to another time, and I took a second to swallow the lump in my throat.

Edward and Bella had been furious when they had found out. After all, their daughter may have been fully grown, but in actual years she was still very young. But then, after a while, they'd gotten their heads around being grandparents who still appeared in their teens, and allowed the wedding.

I was relieved that at least with Harry's chosen future mate there wouldn't be unexpected surprises—almost as much as I fretted about never being a grandma.

"Okay, Harry," I said sternly. "You can go home with them, but tell Tanya if I think for a second that you two have been up to something, I swear I will tear her limb from limb. You know I'll do it!" My threat wasn't empty; I'd done it before.

"Thanks, Mom." Harry grinned before he took off over the field at full speed to join the beautiful vampire in question.

I understood she had been a little promiscuous in the past, but her wild oat sowing days were over. She was now waiting for the nod to become mates with my son, and though I knew I'd think no girl was ever good enough for him, she made Harry happy. That made _me_ happy, even if it didn't make me want to give up my God given right to behave like the monster-in-law from hell.

Once he'd gone, I turned back to Demetri. I was hurting, although in a different way from the last time I'd looked at him.

"I thought you were dead. Where have you been? How could you do that to me? Why now?" My tone was louder and more high-pitched; I was angry, curious, and pleased to see him in front of me and _alive..._sort of.

"I didn't know you'd survived. I couldn't hear you, and then once I eventually did, I realized there were things I had to do first."

"Your eyes?"

"It was the only way I could think of to show you that a vampire can change," he explained. "I hoped you'd give me a chance to talk to you, and would have come sooner but—"

"And you thought becoming a veggie vampire would make me trust you?"

"Yes." Demetri looked like a defeated man as he struggled to answer. "At least, I hoped it would make you give me an opportunity to show you that I am willing to do what it takes to win your trust again. That I am willing to try anything to have you allow me in your and Harry's life."

The expression of desperation on his face as he spoke reminded me of his final sentient moments before I'd faded to black in Italy. "Thank you for what you did in that room ten years ago. I—"

"I love you, Leah," he interrupted, looking unsure of himself. "I have always meant it—each and every time I have said it. I must say that I slip up—_a lot_—and my eyes are still red more often than they're not, but I can _try_ to live off animals, so long as I have you with me."

I stared at him. His pleading reminded me of a moment on a roof in New York. It felt like it had been one hundred years ago, not ten.

"I love you, too, Demetri. I'm so sorry for everything I said—for keeping you away while I was pregnant. For being a bitch..." Forgiveness and apologies weren't my thing, but ten years of regrets over a guy I thought was dead meant that I wasn't going to waste the opportunity to put some of them right.

"It doesn't matter. I deserved it." Demetri looked me in the eyes, and seemed entirely sincere.

"You didn't." I swallowed another lump in my throat. "When I saw you dead, I wished I could have taken every word back. I wouldn't have cared who the hell you murdered, so long as you were alive."

His eyes looked pained. I recalled previous discussions we'd had, how adamant he'd been that you could never teach an old dog new tricks, and that he would never change his preferred food source. But now he was saying he'd give it a try for me, and for Harry.

Another silence grew between us, this time through emotions being too intense to allow us to express ourselves.

I broke the silence first. "So are you here permanently, or are you on leave? Harry and I...we're pretty settled here..." I looked over the field as my imprinted son and his friends pulled away in the Jeep.

"I've been living as a nomad since they put me back together. I travelled with Felix for a while. When I thought you were dead, my whole existence was hell, and I'm ashamed to admit what I got up to. You won't approve, but I will be honest if you want me to."

I took a moment to look into his golden eyes, my face hard, while the suspicions I was unable to bury tried to assess whether he was speaking the truth. "You're not part of the Fenix?" I questioned. "I can't see that they'd let you go that easily."

"You must surely know. There have been quite a few changes in Italy. A number of... adjustments in personnel and ideology. Unrecognizable. I don't agree with their new philosophies."

"But how do I know you're not here under Aro's orders again?"

"Because Aro no longer exists."

"What?" I exclaimed. Why had the Cullens neglected to tell me this? I knew that the Fenix was a Volturi and Romanian alliance, but why hadn't they said Aro was one of the dead? And, more importantly, that Demetri was alive? Furious tremors ran down my spine.

"Caius destroyed him after you left, along with Jane and Alec," Demetri explained. "After Aro was disposed of, Marcus asked to be ended; Vladimir and Stefan were only too happy to oblige. Aro would never have allowed Marcus to leave. And one thing that we've all learnt is that you never underestimate Heidi."

I paused a second. "Heidi?"

"She is doing rather well for herself, and is essentially responsible for the new order."

"And Felix?"

"He also left, with Felicia. I do believe they're in South America right now, looking for Amazons." Demetri smiled a little; I had forgotten how it made his face more angelic.

I took a moment to digest what he had just told me.

"It all sounds too good to be true. So how come the Cullens are all wired up about being attacked by the Fenix? I've seen the headlines from Europe; it certainly doesn't seem to be all flowers and sunshine like you paint it."

"Vladimir and Stefan are a lot more open about what they are, and there have been quite a few policy changes in Italy, few of them for the better. And Caius, well I'm sure you remember; he was the blond one in the room with us that day. He doesn't like wolves."

I shuddered as unpleasant memories of that time came flooding back. I remembered lots of things from my time in Volterra, but the things that stood out in my mind most were giving birth to Harry, my first few moments with him, and the happier moments with Demetri before it had all gone horribly wrong.

I remembered how good it felt to believe that he loved me, and that we could be a family together.

Looking into Demetri's strange, golden eyes, a wash of emotion flooded over me; it was more than my body could stand. I crushed myself against his rock-like body for emotional support.

"Leah," he sighed, as he wrapped my arms around me. "_Ti amo con tutta l'anima_."

That was it; I was undone as he released the memory of all the Italian words he'd spoken to me before. I loved him, and he loved me—I clung to him.

"Don't think a choice Italian phrase is going to get you back in my bed so quickly," I managed to say, my bravado betrayed by the emotion in my voice.

Demetri looked down at me with soft eyes. "I wouldn't dream of it, _la lupa_." I caught his smirk out of the corner of my vision.

For what seemed like an eternity, we just stood and enjoyed the moment.

"_Voglio passare il resto della mia vita con te_," Demetri eventually broke the silence.

"_Stai zitto e baciami_," I replied, with an amused glint in my eyes.

Demetri stared at me in shock. "_Parla Italiano_?"

I grinned widely. I'd made it a priority to be able to understand all the things he'd said to me in the past. Now it seemed my new found language skills might have use going forward.

"Well, when you insist in Italian, how can I say no?" he whispered back, as his mouth moved in towards mine. Fire and ice, it felt familiar. It felt right.

~X~

TRANSLATIONS:

_Ti amo con tutta l'anima._ - I love you with all my soul.

_Voglio passare il resto della mia vita con te_. - I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

_Stai zitto e baciami_.- Shut up and kiss me.

_Parla Italiano_?– Do you speak Italian?

~X~

**One more chapter to go (and an epilogue)...and then that's it. *sobs* It's been a while, so as a reward for bearing with me, I will make sure my final Leah/Demetri lemons are completely and totally gratuitous. I know it's what you want! ;)**


	25. Chapter 25 Reunion

CHAPTER 25 - REUNION

~X~

**I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.**

**All that is left after this chapter is an epilogue, and that's it. Because you've all been so patient and kind...here's one entirely gratuitous lemon, seeing as I've held out on you since Chapter 17! I know, and it wasn't even a proper lemon, either! Sheesh!**

~X~

_What in this world keeps us from tearing apart?  
No matter where I go I hear the beating of your heart.  
I think about you when the night is cold and dark.  
No one can move me the way that you do.  
Nothing erases this feeling between me and you._

I Drove All Night – Cyndi Lauper

~X~

Once I had thoroughly reacquainted myself with the taste of Demetri's mouth, we joined the others in the Cullens' home.

It seemed that my lover was already familiar with some of them, and there was an awkward atmosphere. The Denalis, in particular, seemed frosty with the former member of the Volturi Guard.

Demetri's history with the vampires I now lived amongst wasn't the only issue that we skirted around. By the expression on Edward Cullen's face, he could hear that I'd not let go of the fact that I'd been deceived for the past ten years. That would save for later. I didn't think dismembering a collection of very guilty-looking vampires would be the best way to celebrate Demetri's arrival.

I glared at Alice in particular. Her fussing earlier in the day had taken on an entirely new meaning; she had known and not told me.

Harry diffused the situation by offering to introduce his long-lost father to the sport of Wii Baseball. I sat and watched as they bonded in the way that men often did—over a pointless game that was of absolutely no interest to me whatsoever.

The game bored me, but the interaction between father and son tugged at my heart. I felt confused—everything was so sudden, and I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or scream.

I tried to concentrate on something more tangible—Demetri.

I tried my hardest not to let it turn into an opportunity to ogle him, as he made a virtual figure swing a bat. Emmett and Jasper heckled his lack of success, though I did not doubt that he would improve. The Cullen boys and Harry certainly got plenty of practice, and Demetri would have some catching up to do...if he had the time. I smiled as my mind drifted towards ways to keep him busy.

As my resolve faltered, I found myself watching him intently. Sitting quietly, I enjoyed the view—Demetri's ass was still as epic as it ever was. I noticed Jasper also become silent and fixated; he made his excuses and left the room.

I realised that I was lusting over Demetri with the force of many years of abstinence, and when Emmett happily took over Demetri's attempts and started taking turns with Harry to get a perfect score, I used the opportunity to offer to show Demetri around.

Making a beeline for my cabin, I was sure that he would be able to tell my purpose. He'd never had a problem previously. I opened the glass sliding door and we entered.

Demetri looked about. "Very nice. Does it have a hot tub?" He gave a knowing smirk.

Not wasting time on words, I strode up to him and planted my lips on his. He responded by desperately kissing me back. This time it was not a sweet kiss to celebrate our reunion; it was unadulterated need.

With total disregard to the fact it was light and the table was right in front of the glass entrance, I walked backwards to the table and Demetri followed, his mouth never leaving mine. Anyone who might be in the area would probably know better than to be near the cabin right about now. Certainly, my thoughts had been screaming my intentions as I'd left.

Demetri pulled my hips to his, and the contact sent me frantic with desire. I pulled his shirt over his head, and then pressed myself against his semi-exposed body. He responded by making sure I was also in a similar state of undress, and a pleasant shiver ran over my body at his cold touch.

While he unfastened my shorts and they dropped to the floor, I tasted the vampire skin along his collarbone, meeting his eyes once his task was completed. The yellow was almost hidden by the fact my lover's eyes were black with lust; he looked more like my Demetri and not like a wannabe Cullen.

I might not have liked what red eyes stood for, but I did love Demetri as I remembered him.

"I missed you. So bad," I said huskily.

"Me too, Leah. Never leave me; it's too much to bear."

Demetri pushed me backwards, and I willingly slid onto the table, watching, hungry in anticipation, as he removed his pants. My memory hadn't done him justice; he was male perfection, and that perfection positioned himself between my thighs. I wrapped my legs around his hips and enjoyed the feel of his cold skin against mine. My heart pounded.

We exchanged feverish kisses, until Demetri put his hands on my ass and pulled me closer to the edge of the table I sat on. Right now, I felt as if every second since we'd last had sex had been a lifetime, and my entire body hummed with electricity as it anticipated having him inside once more.

I leaned back as he prepared to enter me.

As he pushed forward, a noise of complete ecstasy escaped me. I closed my eyes and was overwhelmed by the pleasant sensations that accompanied the feeling of being gloriously filled. When I opened them, Demetri was looking down at me while he withdrew and then thrust into me once more.

My eyes ran over his body; I decided that I was missing too much by keeping them closed.

He found a rough but slow rhythm, and I responded by pushing towards him on the in stroke. My body began to perspire and my temperature felt hotter than ever. Instead of cooling me down, my lover's body temperature only set me alight. When Demetri began to rub the sensitive spot above where he entered me, the flames took over, and a ball of fire raced from between my hips and spread throughout my body in waves.

My lover looked at me with a wide smile, and bent down to kiss me slowly while I was still impaled on his length.

"Round one over. I suggest we relocate to the bedroom for round two." I did not need to say anything to show that I was in complete agreement.

Demetri lifted me and I tightened the grip of my legs, as he strode naked into my bedroom with me in his arms.

We lay on the bed, side by side, just observing the other for a moment, before I made Demetri lie on his back and proceeded to lavish his body with attention. I could have worshipped his skin for hours, especially those goddamn abs, but it seemed my lover had other plans. He pulled me so that I straddled his hips.

Demetri's eyes were still dark with desire, yet I teased him by allowing his tip to rub across the source of my wetness. My mischief was ended suddenly when my frustrated lover grabbed my hips and thrust upward. I gasped aloud.

I looked down at the naked vampire I sat astride, as the grinding of my hips and his thrusts found a compatible rhythm.

This morning I'd woken up from a similar fantasy. The moment was too perfect, and I expected to wake up any moment. But when Demetri stiffened and released inside me with a hiss, I collapsed forward onto him and the dream didn't end. Instead, I settled into a comfortable nook along the side of his icy body, lying on my stomach and looking up at his face.

He smiled back at me. "I like your idea of showing me around. I'll have to get you to give me the full tour at some point."

I snorted. "That tour wasn't thorough enough for you?"

"Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I just want to make sure—" he bent his head forward to kiss me. "—I didn't miss any of the sights."

Demetri rolled over so that I was pinned underneath him, and my pulse began to race again in anticipation.

"I love you, Leah. I don't want to spend the rest of my existence anywhere else but here. Can I take it that I'm staying with you from now on?"

Looking into his intense eyes, I ran my hand down his back. "I love you, too, Demetri, but I have to warn you...the Cullens and Denalis are pretty irritating." His face broke into a smile, and it was like sitting up to watch the dawn after a very long, hard night. "I don't think Harry is going to want to move away. He's gotten himself a girlfriend and is pretty attached."

"A girlfriend—at ten years old?" Demetri's smile was filled with pride. I eyeballed him; we obviously had differing opinions on the subject. "Who is it? The half-breed Cullen?"

I shook my head. "Tanya."

Demetri spluttered.

I scowled and tried to sit up. "Don't you _dare_ tell me that you've been there!"

"Leah, no, I haven't...been there. Felix has, though." My lover chuckled. "Well done, Harry. Nothing like starting with an advanced teacher. Does she still—"

I pushed Demetri off me and got to my feet. "Don't even talk about it. She's not allowed anywhere near until he's at least eighteen."

"I assume Harry is fully grown? He certainly seems mature. Why make him wait?" Demetri lay on the bed, unashamed of being exposed in all his glory as I grabbed a nearby bathrobe.

"That goddamn vamp has been sniffing around him since he hit puberty. He's barely even lived, and she's trying to steal him away and corrupt him."

"Leah, he's got half my genes. I doubt that he's got a problem with being corrupted." Demetri smirked as he spoke. It was entirely the wrong thing to do.

"What? You've been back a matter of hours and you're already telling me how I should have raised our son?" My temper boiled over and got the better of me, but I held back the tremors. "You don't know anything about him—_you_ _weren't here_."

I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.

Demetri's expression visibly dropped, but his voice remained even and calm. "That was a little harsh, Leah. Do you not think that if I'd known you were alive, that I would have found you? And once I did hear you, do you not realize what I have done to convince you to let me in? Do you think that I decided to start drinking animal blood because I like the taste? If I could vomit, I would—every time."

As always, his words were too reasonable to argue against, but I couldn't spit out the apology that I knew I should give. Instead, I stood, glared at him, and made the moment even more awkward.

Demetri broke the silence. "Leah?"

"Yeah?" I replied sharply.

"I'm sure it's difficult for you to allow me to walk in and start having an opinion on how you are raising our son, but I really want to play a part. After all, I've missed out on ten years that I can never get back."

I looked down at my feet and nodded in understanding—my pout stayed in place.

"You don't like Tanya, I can see that, but vampires can change. Am I not living proof?"

"Living?" I said sarcastically; Demetri's eyebrows raised. "Yeah, I guess so, but I've set a rule and I'm sticking by it. She's waited centuries for him to come along. What's another eight years to her?"

"True, but I'm sure it feels a lot longer to Harry."

"I've made my decision, and I'm sticking to it. This is _my_ house, and Harry follows _my_ rules. So will you if you plan on staying here with me." My eyes challenged Demetri to dissent.

He broke into another smile. "And what if I refuse? You know I'm a naughty boy, and I can be a bit of a handful. A generous handful, at that." Demetri's eyes twinkled with innuendo.

I completely failed to keep a straight face. Obviously, I had forgotten how he could turn any situation or discussion into sex. _Goddamn, manipulative, sexually-insatiable vampire._ "Well, then, if you're a bad boy, then you'll have to be punished."

I left the window of opportunity wide open for him.

"Oh, really." Demetri patted a spot on the bed right next to where he lay. "That's an intriguing idea. Do come and sit down, and we can discuss your idea of discipline in more detail."

Pausing for a second, I decided that the parenting issue could be addressed later, and I just wanted to make the most of the first night of having the vampire I loved back here with me. I dropped my robe to the ground as I approached.

Demetri's eyes ran over my body as it was once more exposed. "Much better."

Before I'd even fully lain on the bed, his hands were on me. Between kisses, I managed to say, "Warn me if anyone comes near. This is going to be hard with a son with super hearing hanging around. We don't want to get caught."

He pinned me to the bed again. "Don't worry, I fully intend on making you so loud that the entire coven knows not to come anywhere near this cabin until at least tomorrow morning."

Closing my eyes, he reminded me of how talented he was, and why I'd fallen for him in the first place. An eternity hanging around with the Cullens might be a lot more pleasurable with Demetri around—_pleasurable,_ being the operative word.

Lifting my mouth to his, I hesitated just before we made contact. "You do realise that you're going to at least have to try to behave yourself living amongst all these do-gooder vegetarian types?"

He looked me directly in the eyes. "I'm a regular paragon of virtue. I have my yellow eyes now, and I'm saving up for my halo." Demetri did his best to look sweet and innocent.

I gave him a dubious look. "Yeah, that's why two minutes ago you were telling me that you were going to make me scream the place down."

Demetri's smile spread across his face. "That proves my point exactly. I was being open and honest, and speaking nothing but the truth."

He began to prove his point, and my eyes rolled back into my head as his hands wandered. I goddamn hated it when he was right. There would be nothing but innuendo from goddamn Emmett Cullen when I showed up for lunch tomorrow.

_Ah, screw it_, I thought. Life was too short not to let those around you know how you feel...or how it felt. Never let it be said that I was shy, quiet type.

I gave myself up to the moment completely.

**Don't worry...there's still the epilogue! I might even throw in a bit of Italian here and there, too...because I know you like it!**


	26. Epilogue

EPILOGUE – BIRTHDAY

~X~

**I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Well, this is it...no more Red Eyes... *sniff***

**If you're as sad about the end of the journey as I am, check out "The Burning of Lucius Demetrius Flavius," which is my Demetri history and his POV of this story. **

**Thanks for reading. It's been fun. Specific thanks at the end of the chapter.**

~X~

_You belong to me,_

_I belong to you,_

_Fire from my heart,_

_Burning just for you._

_When you're far away,_

_I'm in love with you,_

_Feelings are so high,_

_What can I do?_

Hot - Inna

~X~

2057AD

As usual, I raced ahead and allowed him to follow me. I thought I was lost until finally I came across a clearing that jogged my memory. I stopped and phased back into human form, looking over my shoulder and waiting for him to catch up.

He couldn't be far behind because I could smell him.

Something caught my eye, and when I turned back, Demetri was inches in front of me. He smirked before quickly pulling my face towards him and kissing me.

"Shit, Demetri!" I yelled at him once the kiss ended. My heart was pounding with shock. Even after I calmed down, it did not slow. After all, I stood here in the woods, naked, and with my lover within touching distance.

"Too easy," he said with an amused grin. "I hope you don't allow all vampires to sneak up on you like that. It's not safe, you know?"

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You only manage to catch up with me because of your party trick. Without that, you'd eat my dust."

"Eat your what?" His smile screamed sexual innuendo, but then I'd become accustomed to that over the years.

I smiled. "Always about the goddamn sex..." I put my hand on his chest and began walking him backwards.

"You wouldn't want me any other way, _la lupa_." His back finally connected with a tree, and my hand moved from the centre of his chest to the nape of his neck. I pressed my naked body against him, curling one leg around his own.

I looked him in the eye. "Demetri..."

"Yes, Leah?"

"You wear way too many clothes."

Demetri smiled widely, as if he hadn't known exactly what I had in mind when I'd stopped. "I agree entirely. Would you like to do something about that?"

"What?" I asked, both of my hands moving around to his chest and grabbing a handful of fabric. "Like this?" I tugged hard and was rewarded with the sound of tearing cloth. My eyes did not leave Demetri's, and as I undressed him the quick way, his irises dilated with lust, turning his red eyes jet black.

"Oh, yes, Leah, that is—" He didn't have time to finish as I crushed my mouth against his.

One of his hands found its way down to my ass, while the other icy forearm pressed against my shoulder blades, pulling me impossibly close to his cold, muscular form. I grabbed the trunk of the tree and used my grip to pull myself ever closer into him, feeling his erection pressing into my stomach. My body moulded around his, packing him in one tight Leah-Demetri-tree sandwich.

Eventually, I pushed away from him, wrenching myself free from his grip.

I smiled and lowered myself onto my knees, my eyes glittering with intent. He didn't get this often—only on birthdays. This was one _big_ birthday.

I wrapped my hand around the base of his penis and I slowly pressed my lips to his tip. I smiled, paused before I went any further, and looked up at his face. "_Quanto mi ami_?"

"Oh, Leah. _Ti amo più di quello che posso dire. Tu mi completi_."

Satisfied with his answer, I took him inside my mouth. He groaned as I took as much of his cold flesh between my warm lips as I could. A string of Italian curses escaped him as he tangled his fingers in my short, dark hair.

Finally, he pushed me away, and crawled down onto the forest floor with me.

"_La lupa, voglio farlo sul il sottobosco."_

"_Sottobosco?_" I questioned the Italian he had used.

Demetri smiled. "Here...on the forest floor." He pinned me to the earth and spread my thighs. I looked up at him, and my gaze lingered over his perfectly preserved body positioned between my legs, his erection inches away from where I wanted it to be.

I didn't give a damn about what was happening in Europe; so far as I was concerned, life was pretty goddamn rosy. I couldn't ever remember being so happy as I was now that I had my son and Demetri with me. Not even having to co-exist with the Cullens and Denalis could put a damper on things.

Instead of burying himself inside me, Demetri leaned over me and kissed me again, his weight pressing my back into the soft earth. His mouth then moved over my jaw, down my neck, and towards my breasts.

"_Amo solo te...per sempre,"_ he whispered as his lips hovered over my nipple. I tensed in anticipation and was rewarded when his cold mouth sent pleasant electric shocks throughout my body. I moaned his name.

"Demetri..._ho bisogno di te_. I want you now."

He looked up at me and smiled, then supported himself on one arm and used the other to guide himself inside me. With the first thrust, I arched myself in ecstasy, and with each consecutive stroke I lifted my hips to meet his, helping him reach deeper inside me.

His arms wound around me as we continued to screw each other senseless on the forest floor. It was true that opposites attracted—our flaws were perfectly compatible. Shape shifter and vampire, volcano and glacier, hot and cold. Between us, we managed to find a balance where there really shouldn't be one, and when we did meet, it was explosive.

The sex would never get boring or mundane, and I could never get enough of him physically.

The pace became more frantic as we writhed and groaned in the wilderness, with nothing but small animals within earshot, which I was grateful for. Demetri's need to make sure the entire coven knew about his sexual prowess really pissed me off.

I came first, crying out a string of appreciative expletives. Demetri wasn't far behind me. Once his moment had passed, his cold body collapsed on me, and we lay still. I enjoyed the familiar sensation of him cooling my feverish, perspiring skin, and for a while we said nothing.

With the Cullens and the Denalis, we were just one more cross-species couple amongst others, yet in our own ways we were still different. I was still the only she-wolf, and Demetri was the only one who had red eyes on a regular basis. Although, admittedly, Demetri was not a good influence on Jasper, and since Demetri's arrival he had slipped more often, too. Their bloody backgrounds had given them something in common, and they had become fast friends.

My volatile emotions were also not a good influence, and his mate, Alice, was still one of the banes of my existence.

I had finally relented and allowed Harry to pursue a relationship with Tanya, and they had tied the knot ten years ago. It had been quite emotional, handing my son over to another woman's care, but it seemed that Tanya had finally found her mate and was entirely devoted to him, although I had yet to warm to her. I doubted that I ever would.

Demetri often reminded me that even the most prolific succubus or incubus could mend their ways once the mating bond took over. We had never gotten married, but we were completely happy to continue living in sin.

Felix and Felicia had stopped by once or twice, but they continued their nomadic life, staying on the American continents. They might not have run across any Amazons during their exploration of South America, but Felicia was tall enough to not look out of place amongst the wolves or her sizeable father.

They were invited to stay, but the Cullens' diet put them off anything more than an extended visit. Still, they were always welcome. There weren't many other vampires or wolves we were familiar with that came to visit these days. Demetri admitted that most of the Cullens' former allies, other than the Denalis, had perished at the Volturi's hands, and that he'd taken a large part in carrying it out.

I found something strangely sexy about Demetri's unapologetic nature when it came to the destruction of vampires. Humans were a different matter. A slip did not mean he was instantly kicked to the kerb, but he still got a verbal dose of Leah Clearwater when he came home with red eyes after leaving with yellow.

After seeing Demetri feed on animals once, and seeing how his reaction differed from the Cullens', I went a little easier on him. He was suffering, and I could see how hard he was trying—it was all for Harry and me. It was hard to fire off with that in mind.

Once, I'd even condoned his carnivorous diet—when my mom had found out she had terminal cancer, and the pain had gotten too much for her. She'd made the suggestion, and I had agreed with tears in my eyes. I'd ventured a trip back to La Push when my mom had wanted me to scatter her ashes on a spot special to her and my dad.

It had been strange to see what was left of my old pack again.

Sam had stopped phasing and passed the mantel onto one of his sons. My former alpha had aged about ten years in appearance, and it seemed strange to see him change. Emily had aged considerably.

I had almost gotten used to almost everyone around me staying forever young. _Almost._

My mom's death had been a wakeup call, and I finally made a concerted effort to make peace with Sam and Emily. I couldn't let them pass on without knowing that the past was forgotten, and apologizing with sincerity for the wrongs I'd done.

Demetri had been worried about how the trip would affect me, but when I returned home to Alaska, I felt strangely carefree. I had lost loved ones, but Demetri and Harry would be with me always. There were very few limitations on the number of years we could have on earth together.

Demetri had been right all those years ago. Eternal life never got old, so long as you made the most of your time. I looked up at the vampire in question.

"Which way to Yellowstone? Do you think the cabin with the hot tub is still there?"

He smiled and kissed me. "We could always go for a run and find out for ourselves."

If Alice had managed to pull off a surprise party, as I thought she might, right about now she would be seeing the effects of the decisions Demetri and I were making.

Tonight would be all about celebrating the way my undead lover wanted to, and you didn't need a rocket scientist to figure that out. Lying on the earth underneath him, I had to agree that nothing Alice could come up with would top this.

I ran my fingers up Demetri's naked back and looked him in the eyes. "Happy two thousandth birthday. You don't look a day over twenty-five."

He chuckled. "Well, you're only as old as the woman you feel..."

~X~

TRANSLATIONS

_Quanto mi ami_? - How much do you love me?

_Ti amo più di quello che posso dire._ – I love you more than I can say.

_Tu mi completi._ – You complete me.

_Voglio farlo sul il sottobosco_._ – _I want to do it on the forest floor.

_Amo solo te...per sempre._ – I love only you...forever.

_Ho bisogno di te._ – I need you.

**IL FINITO – THE END**

**Warning - Oscar acceptance speech type thanks from here on:**

**Thanks firstly to my fella, Steve, for allowing me to ignore him in favour of my laptop from pretty much April until now. I don't think he's ever had the opportunity to watch so much football uninterrupted.**

**Thanks to Stephenie Meyer, for leaving so much scope for expansion in the Twilight Saga.**

**Thanks to Nowforruin and Solareclipses for taking the time to explain my errors to me, so that I could learn from them. This story wouldn't have done nearly so well without them. Project Team Beta is an amazing concept and I will never, ever post anything unbeta'd again.**

**Thanks also to TheRainGirl for jumping in and helping me so early on, when Red Eyes was still a contest one shot. You can be my twife anytime, so long as you don't mind my tendancy towards bigamy. :)**

**Thanks to my bestest fanfiction friend in the whole wide world, WolvesCanEatMe. I love you, babe.**

**Thanks, too, to all the really good friends I've made through this story-I feel really bad not listing you all personally, but the list would be massive because I've started talking to so many NICE people through posting this little fanfic. I appreciate every single one of you, and you know who you are. Thanks for all your reviews, inboxes, emails and tweets. You're all going to heaven...even the naughty ones.**

**I'm just so happy my random little flight of fancy between two minor characters was so well received. I know Leah and Demetri aren't the most popular characters, and being a Volturi/less popular wolf story, I am thrilled at my read count and the number of reviews it has gotten. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I loved writing it.**

**Ta muchly,**

**Leanne xxx**


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